Show Me What I'm Looking For
by Clara-Erobreren
Summary: Harry enlists the help of Hogwarts' popular matchmaking team, Draco and Pansy, to set up Ron and Hermione. However, sparks soon fly elsewhere as well. Hilarity, drama, friendship, and romance ensue. CH 16 ADDED - COMPLETE
1. Matchmaker, Matchmaker

**Title**: Show Me What I'm Looking For

**Summary**: Harry wants to set up Ron and Hermione, and he enlists the help of Hogwarts' own matchmaking team extraordinaires, Draco and Pansy! Soon, however, sparks are flying elsewhere. What could this lead to? Hilarity, drama, unexpected friendships, and romance - of course! SLASH! HP/DM + RW/HG

**Rating**: T for now. If I decide to get smutty, which I probably will, it may go up. There will be language. If that upsets you, sorry!

**Author's Note**: This story does involve Drarry. If that bothers you at all, then just don't read. Don't flame me saying stuff like HARRY LUVS GINNY!11! EW GAYZZZ! because I've clearly warned you. Also, this falls in their sixth year. It's AU because it completely ignores HBP. If you hate AU stories, sorry! This is just for fun. :] Please read, enjoy, and review!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything.

Oh, and if it's in italics, then it's a thought of Harry's.

Now onto the story!

Everyone knew that Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger would make the perfect couple. Well, everyone except Ron and Hermione that is.

After many years of watching the two blush anytime they accidently touched each other, their constant bickering, or their shy glances when they thought no one was looking, Harry decided to pair them together. Sort of like a matchmaker.

However, since he had the most rotten luck when it came to love (or well, when it came to anything, for that matter), Harry concluded that after many failed attempts to set them up that he needed help. Real help. Real, professional help.

Which is why when Harry heard from Lavender and Parvati about P&M Matchmaking Company, he felt as though it was a sign from Merlin himself (even though he was quickly unsettled when he found up just _what_ the P&M stood for).

And when he saw the matchmakers sitting in the library on Saturday afternoon, alone, Harry just couldn't help but feel as though things were falling into place.

He got up from his seat and walked over to Pansy Parkinson and Draco Malfoy. He noted to himself that Malfoy looked kind of adorable with his right eyebrow cocked up in that manner, but his thoughts were quickly interrupted by Pansy slamming her book down hard on the table.

"And what the fuck do YOU want, Potter?" She said, smugly.

Harry glared at her. _Stupid bitch_. "I've brought you a potential match for your little business, Parkinson, unless I should go elsewhere?"

Pansy immediately brightened up at the thought of prospective romance. Malfoy smirked next to her.

"And who exactly do you want us to match up, Potter?" The blond slowly drawled.

"Ron and Hermione."

"Ugh!" Pansy remarked in disgust while Malfoy frowned, his eyebrows knitted together. _So cute… Wait… What the hell?_ "That Mudblood and the Mudblood lover?"

Malfoy glanced toward the girl as she said this and raised another cute eyebrow. Harry shook this thought out of his head.

"Well, Pansy, you just said it yourself. They obviously deserve each other," he said pointedly. She sighed in agreement.

"Alright, Potter," Pansy motioned for Harry to sit down across from them. Malfoy reached into his school bag and retrieved 2 quills and 2 pink notebooks, both with a big P&M emblem on the front. "Let's talk business." And with that, they both opened their notebooks to the middle. Harry raised both his eyebrows; he had no idea P&M Matchmaking Company was so popular.

"Erm… well," Harry cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable with the spotlight being put on him suddenly. "I've tried to get them together… you know, like dates to Hogsmeade and such, but I haven't the best luck, you see-" Here, Malfoy chuckled to himself. "- and so I figured you both could help me."

Pansy, with her head looking down, nodded quickly as she made tons of notes in her pink notebook, although Harry had definitely not said that much.

Malfoy smiled sweetly at Harry. "Well, Potter, you're in good hands." His ice grey eyes bore into Harry's emerald ones. Harry immediately felt his breath catch and heat rush to his cheeks. He could do nothing but stare back. What was Malfoy doing to him? Why couldn't break away from the silvery gaze…

Pansy cleared her throat very loudly and suddenly, causing Harry jumped out of his seat. He quickly looked at her and saw a playful smile dancing on her lips. Harry felt embarrassment creep onto his face.

Harry stood up quickly, not wanting to look at Malfoy again.

"Well, er, please do the best you can, and keep me updated," he stumbled out, mainly talking to Pansy. She was still smirking.

"Oh indeed, Potter, we will. We also may have more questions for you, so don't be shocked if we approach you in the corridors," and with that Pansy dismissed him as she went back to scribbling in her notebook.

Harry muttered an awkward 'okay' in her general direction, and glanced quickly at Malfoy, only to see that dulcet, mesmerizing smile still on his porcelain face. Harry felt his heart beat pulsate throughout his entire body, and he thought perhaps his heart would beat out of his chest.

He gave Malfoy a curt nod before he promptly turned on his heels and fled the scene.

Harry still felt Malfoy's gaze on his back as he made his way to the library exit. He practically broke out into a sprint, because right then, he wanted to get out of there as fucking fast as he could.

It felt like eternity before he finally made his way back to the practically empty Gryffindor common room. He mumbled a hello to Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas before laying himself down on the couch in front of the fire place.

Harry sighed a bit dramatically and tried to nap, but all he could see were those alluring, pale silver eyes.

Is Harry finding himself attracted to Malfoy? What was Pansy smiling about, anyway? And are the P&M matchmakers as good as they say they are? The only way to find out is to review! :]


	2. Steamy Dreams and Lost Essays

Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or added my story to your favorites list or story alerts. I personally hate waiting ages for a story to be updated, so I'm going to try my best to update this at least once a week. :]

Disclaimer: Sadly, I own nothing. :[

* * *

Harry was walking down the corridor towards the Gryffindor common room when a flash of platinum hair caught his eye. He looked towards it and saw Draco Malfoy smirking in his direction. Harry felt a draw towards the blond and immediately started walking toward him.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow suggestively and started walking toward an empty classroom. He glanced towards the raven-haired boy and gestured for Harry to follow him.

Harry entered the dim-lit and cob-webbed ridden classroom, and suddenly the door shut with force behind him. He quickly turned around to see Malfoy standing there, smirking sensually.

The Slytherin strutted slowly towards Harry, the smug look never leaving his face. Soon they were practically nose to nose, and Harry could feel Malfoy's hot breath on his face. It sent chills up his spine.

"Mal-" but his words were cut off by Malfoy putting a finger on his lips.

"Hush," he said gently and Harry merely nodded, not knowing what was going on.

Malfoy slowly traced Harry's lips with the slightest touch, and started to lean in. Harry's breath started to quicken and his heart was racing. He couldn't take this anymore.

Harry lunged into Malfoy's mouth, and pleasant gasp escaped from the other boy before he returned the kiss with more passion than originally planned.

Hands were groping everywhere, hair was getting ruffled. Breaths became ragged, tongues were fighting for dominance, rough purrs were emitting from throats, and both boys were starting to sweat. Harry couldn't believe that _this_ was happening with Draco Malfoy… or how bloody _hot_ it was.

Malfoy moved in closer and suddenly Harry could feel Malfoy's erection on his inner thigh, a small moan bursting from his throat. Malfoy suddenly broke off the kiss, and looked into Harry's face, eyes shining bright with passion.

Malfoy slowly started to step away from Harry, and chuckled when Harry protested. His signature smirk came to his face as he undid his school tie and he started to unbutton his shirt. It was only then that he broke the silence.

"Harry! Mate, wake up. You're going to miss dinner!" a familiar voice yelled from Malfoy's beautiful mouth. Harry did a double take.

"Wh-What?"

Malfoy's smirk disappeared.

"Harry, please get up. You've been sleeping all afternoon!" A stern female voice came from Malfoy now. Suddenly he was being shaken.

Harry opened his eyes quickly and found himself looking up at Ron and Hermione.

"Oh… hey guys," he mumbled. He was very sweaty, and the crotch of his pants felt a little wet.

Ron looked at him with incredulous eyes. "You okay?"

Harry nodded hesitantly; he was truly unsure of the answer to that question. Ron seemed to buy it though.

"Alright, well dinner will be over soon, so let's get a move on!" He rubbed his hands together, obviously ready to eat. Hermione rolled her eyes.

Harry walked with his two best friends to the Great Hall, but he only half heartedly listened to Hermione bitch at Ron about not having done his Transfiguration homework yet. He couldn't get the dream out of his mind. What the hell was going on with him? Why, of all people, did he dream of _Malfoy_?

During dinner, Harry noticed Pansy and Malfoy had separated themselves from the majority of the other Slytherins, and were both vigorously whispering behind their notebooks while looking directly at Ron and Hermione. He couldn't help but chuckle at the sight they were.

"Have _you_ finished your Transfiguration essay, Harry?" Hermione asked him, obviously looking at him for back-up. _Are they still fighting about that stupid homework_?

"Erm, yeah, I finished it today at the library-"

Just then, it hit him. Harry had been so quick to leave his awkward meeting with Malfoy and Pansy that he had just left his homework laying on the table. He groaned loudly.

"I left it in the bloody library!" He hissed to himself. Hermione frowned, and Ron nodded, obviously understanding what it was like.

"Do you think it's still there?"

"I don't know, Ron," Harry shook his head. Quickly finishing his toffee pudding, he grabbed his book bag and slung it over his shoulder. "I'm going to go check and see if Madam Pince picked it up. I'll meet you guys in the common room." Hermione gave a quick bye and looked in disgust at Ron who was simultaneously nodding, shoving food in his mouth, and saying goodbye to Harry.

Harry was trudging up the stairs from the Great Hall when he suddenly caught a glimpse of platinum blond hair. He immediately froze and gulped nervously. Malfoy was at the top of the stairs, smirking at the boy below him.

"And where are you going, Potter?" he drawled. Harry couldn't even look at the boy without thinking of his dream earlier that afternoon. He started to blush.

"Um, just going to the library. I left my essay there," Harry said to his feet, trying to get up the stairs and around the Slytherin.

"Oh, you mean this essay?" Harry heard a ruffle of papers and turned around to see a very smug looking Malfoy, indeed holding Harry's Transfiguration essay.

"Wha- Why- How did you get that?" Harry stuttered in awe. Malfoy shrugged, the smirk never once leaving his face.

"I saw you left it while you were hurrying out earlier-" here, he raised an eyebrow- "and I thought since I would be seeing you again soon, I'd keep it safe for a bit."

Harry made his way to grab the parchment when he stopped in his tracks.

"Wait, seeing me again soon?"

"Well, yes, because of our business with Weasley and Granger," Malfoy looked at him questioningly.

"OH, right, that," Harry said quickly and reached out for his essay.

"Nope, not so fast, Potter," Malfoy's smirk grew even bigger as he pocketed Harry's essay. "We talk first, then you get your precious little papers."

Harry silently groaned and shut his eyes. _Great_. _Just what I need… to be alone with Malfoy_.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Malfoy down the hall, gesturing towards an empty classroom, and disappeared with the door shutting loudly behind him.

Harry's heart started to beat quickly and his palms started to sweat. _Oh. Shit. _

* * *

Sorry it ended up being shorter than promised. I got swamped with an art history paper. The third chapter will be up soon! :]


	3. In Which There Is A Bit Of Bonding

Hello all! I'm terribly sorry it's been so long. I'm not going to lie... I've had a bit of writer's block. But, I've recently been inspired, so I should never have to take such a long break! (*crosses fingers*)

Again, thank you all who have been adding this story to your favorites or story alerts. It makes me happy inside. :]

Quick disclaimer: I own nothing!

Enjoy!

* * *

Harry was suddenly searching for the Gryffindor courage he was so well known for. He found nothing.

The door down the hall creaked open and Malfoy's head popped out.

"Are you coming or not, Potter?" he hissed. All Harry could do was trudge his way forward.

As he made his way into the room, he saw the blond sitting quite comfortably in a desk, with his quill and notebook ready. Harry sighed and sat himself down a few desks away from the other boy. Malfoy stared at him pointedly, all business.

"Now, Potter-"

"Why are you in a matchmaking business?" The question had just kind of spilled out, and it had definitely caught Malfoy off guard.

The boy sat there for a second with a strained look on his face, while moving his mouth like a fish. Suddenly, he was glaring at Harry.

"What's it to you, Potter?"

Harry shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. I was just curious. I never thought you'd be helping any in the romance department. You know, being a right git and all."

Malfoy's glare grew harder until he sighed loudly in agreement.

"It was Pansy's idea. She practically begged me. Besides, I kind of owe her…" Malfoy trailed off, looking around the room as though he were embarrassed, obviously wanting to end the discussion.

"What do you owe her?" Harry leaned forward. Malfoy was glaring again, though he didn't seem to mean it.

"Potter, that is none of your business." The blond said harshly. Harry just shrugged again.

Malfoy cleared his throat officially, searching the page in front of him. Pansy had obviously made a list of questions for Harry to be asked. He snorted at this.

"What're you laughing at?" Malfoy was glaring again.

"Oh, um, nothing, sorry."

Malfoy caught on, though, and frowned.

"I didn't think she'd take this so seriously," Malfoy said sadly, looking down at the long scroll of parchment the girl had made for him, and then looking up at the boy across from him.

Harry gave him a small smile, and he could have _sworn_ that for a split second, Malfoy had returned the smile with a sweet one of his own.

"So, the Weasel-"

"Ron."

Malfoy obviously ignored this.

"And the Mud-"

"Hermione."

Malfoy rolled his eyes dramatically. "Really, Potter, you've got to be kidding."

Harry snorted. "If you're going to match them, you could at least be polite and not call them by your stupid little nicknames."

"Fine, Weasley and Granger."

Harry smiled smugly. "Much better."

"Weasley and Granger. Why do you think they would be a good match?"

Suddenly, Harry was at a loss of words. Why did Ron and Hermione belong together?

"Well, erm, it's just obvious that they're attracted to each other. They fight a lot, and stare at each other a lot. And blush at random times."

"Sounds disgusting," the other boy scoffed. Harry couldn't help but chuckle at this. The blond was kind of right. Harry wanted someone to fight with over trivial things, to blush at, to day dream about. He had tried it with Cho. He had tried it with Ginny. Both had failed. But why? Why did he feel so empty?

Harry wanted a companion. He _longed_ for a companion.

He was utterly pathetic.

Malfoy let out a loud sigh at the same time as Harry. The Gryffindor looked up to find the blond looking at him. They stared at each other intensely for what felt like forever.

Harry felt as though that, at that moment, perhaps he and Malfoy were thinking the same exact, pathetic thought.

It was a comforting moment. Maybe a bit too comforting.

An awkward silence followed. Malfoy cleared his throat.

"So, are you and the Weaselette…" his voice seemed to trail off.

Harry's face felt beet red.

"Um, no. No no. We broke up," he practically yelled it. Malfoy simply nodded.

Awkward silence.

"Erm, what about you and Pansy-" Harry was cut off by the outrageous look on Malfoy's face.

"Wait… me and Pansy?" Harry nodded.

Suddenly, Malfoy was doubled over in laughter. His tenor rang off the classroom's walls. Harry suddenly felt a strange knot in his stomach.

"What… What's so funny?"

Malfoy regained his composure and stopped laughing. Harry immediately missed it.

"Parkinson and I are _definitely _not together. Just the thought of that is bloody hilarious." He explained, laughter still on the tip of his tongue.

"Oh…" Harry stated dumbly. "I'm sorry, I just thought maybe if you two were-"

"In a matchmaking business together, then we must've matched with each other?"

"Yeah, actually," A beat, and then, Harry's Gryffindor courage got the best of him. "And maybe that you decided to help her with the business so she could keep the relationship hidden…"

The amusement immediately left Malfoy's eyes.

"Wait, what?"

"You said you owed her something," Harry practically whispered. He already felt ashamed for trying to dig into the blond's business.

"Oh… yes, that," Malfoy bit his lip. "It's nothing like that at all."

"Oh," was all Harry could manage. What was Malfoy hiding?

Silence.

"So, Potter, if you don't mind me asking, what happened between you and the Weaselette?"

Harry started to twiddle his thumbs. Why was Malfoy asking about his private life? This was weird. And strangely encouraging.

"Well, I guess I just didn't like her _that_ way."

"Oh, you didn't find her attractive?"

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, no. No, I find her attractive. I just-"

"Wasn't attracted to her?"

Harry was silent for a moment. Never before had his situation with Ginny ever been so set plainly before him. Malfoy had been able to put his relationship into those few words, and all of a sudden, it all made sense to Harry. He may have cared for Ginny, but he really just wasn't attracted to her in the way she had wanted him to be.

Damnit. Where was Malfoy during the messy break up?

Harry chuckled slightly. "Yeah, exactly."

Malfoy smiled. "Yeah, I understand that one."

Silence.

"When did you two…" Malfoy waved his hands around in an odd fashion, but Harry understood what he was implying.

"Um, like 3 or so weeks ago," Harry shrugged. Malfoy nodded.

More silence. Not awkward this time, oh no. This time, the silence was quite comfortable.

"It was an awful break up," Harry spoke up suddenly.

"How so?" Malfoy inquired gently.

"Ron didn't speak to me for days. I guess I can understand that one; I did really upset Ginny… It's still not completely right between us. Bloody awkward at times... and then there's Hermione... She keeps asking if I'm feeling alright, like me not wanting to be with Ginny was some sort of illness," Harry scoffed at the stupidity of the situation.

Malfoy rolled his eyes.

"You can't help who you're attracted to and who you're not attracted to," the blond declared with his signature drawl.

Harry gave a small smile. "Well, apparently they don't understand that."

"Well, who gives a fuck if they understand it or not? They're not the ones in the relationship."

Harry now looked upon his situation with enlightened eyes. Never before had it made such sense. How was Malfoy able to give him advice like this… advice that just made so much sense?

"Wow."

"What?"

"I've never been able to talk to someone about my problems, and been able to get such simple but effective advice." Harry smiled at these words.

Malfoy smirked. "I've been told I'm pretty good at that."

Harry grinned. "I guess you're my new shrink, then."

Malfoy looked at him with hesitating eyes.

"What's a shrink? That's an odd term…"

Harry chuckled and shook his head.

"It's a Muggle term."

Malfoy's nose scrunched in disgust. "Ew."

"It's a psychologist. Like, erm, therapy."

"Oh, okay. But why are they called shrinks?" Malfoy asked, genuinely curious.

"Um, I'm not sure, actually,"

Malfoy nodded with a smug look on his face. "Figures, it _is_ a Muggle term after all. Makes no bloody sense at all."

Harry bursted out in powerful laughter. Malfoy seemed taken aback, but then grinned broadly.

"You know it's true," the Slytherin said matter of factly.

Harry nodded. "No doubt it is."

Malfoy's smile grew wider and the raven haired boy grinned back.

The smile was lost however when he saw the blond gathering his things together to leave. Harry reluctantly made to do the same.

They both stood up to exit the room when Malfoy sincerely smiled at the Gryffindor.

"Well, I didn't get much done here. Pansy will probably be angry with me."

Harry winced. He hadn't meant to get off topic. He completely forgot about Ron and Hermione. "I'm sorry…"

Malfoy waved it off casually.

"You think I'm worried?" he asked, the signature smirk placed on his face.

Harry smiled and shook his head.

"Exactly. Well, I'll catch you later, then…" he heard Malfoy's voice trail off.

Harry nodded and looked down at his feet, shuffling his way out of the empty classroom.

"Oh, wait, I forgot," he heard the familiar silky voice say.

Harry looked up with a jerk to find Malfoy holding out the Transfiguration essay. He had completely forgotten about that, too.

"Here's your essay, Harry," and with that the blond was out of the room.

Harry stared down at the essay, and then stared at the door in front of him. What had happened this afternoon?

And did Malfoy just call him Harry?

Harry stood in the door frame, dumbstruck. And oddly enough, at the same time, happy.


	4. Fights

Hello, loves! I'm SO sorry I took so long. I got very caught up in school work. Thankfully, I'm free for a few weeks, so I'm all yours. Enjoy!

* * *

When Harry got back to the Gryffindor common room, he was still in a bit of a daze. And he was completely exhausted, despite the fact that it was still pretty early in the night.

"Well, you were gone for a while," Ron stated suspiciously.

"Erm, yeah, I had to… er… search for the paper, actually," Harry mumbled.

Ron looked at him a bit strangely and went back to his homework. Hermione was still looking at him with an odd look on her face. Like she could automatically tell that something was up and Harry wasn't telling the truth.

She'd always been able to figure out that kind of stuff. Which scared Harry quite a bit tonight more than usual.

He crossed his fingers mentally, hoping she would soon drop it, or put whatever thought she had in the back of her mind.

Harry always had the sorriest of luck.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright? You do seem a bit flustered."

"Hermione, really, I'm fine. Just… quit asking… please," Harry pleaded. He didn't miss the strained glance between the girl and the red head.

"Harry, we've been meaning to talk to you-" Hermione started gently.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I know where this is going."

Hermione bit her lip and glanced around the room before continuing.

"It's just, this whole thing about your relationship with Ginny," Ron tensed up here. "It was so sudden. I just want to make sure it wasn't a rash decision."

Harry was frozen. He couldn't believe that this was getting brought up. Suddenly, anger surged through him. Everything since breaking up with Ginny- Ginny's depressing silence around him, Hermione's nosiness, Ron's anger, and now Draco's words from this evening- everything just clicked together. And Harry lost it.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me!" He shrilled. Hermione looked taken aback and Ron went white. "My relationship with Ginny was with GINNY. Not with you, Hermione, and not with Ron. I thought long and hard about the decision I made. It was not RASH. I'm simply not attracted to her in that way. It's nothing you can fix. And it's nothing going change. So I'd appreciate it if you both minded your own business and we all fucking moved on!"

With that, Harry stomped upstairs to his dorm room, laid down, and stared at the ceiling. The adrenaline of his anger slowly started to subside and he started to realize what he had just done.

He had completely freaked out on his two closest friends.

And it had felt good.

He smiled to himself.

The thought of having Draco as his personal psychologist entered his mind as he drifted off to sleep. This could be a good thing, he thought optimistically.

* * *

The next morning, Harry woke up to Seamus yelling at him to get up instead of Ron. He knew this probably wasn't a good sign, especially after his explosive behavior last night. But he was too pleased with himself for getting everything that was bothering him off his chest to care.

He went down to breakfast, getting a glance from Ron. Hermione gave him a small and muffled 'Hello' from behind her copy of The Daily Prophet.

Harry sighed and tucked into his breakfast. He thought for sure they would have gotten over it by now. He had given them all night!

As he looked around the Great Hall, a pair of beautiful silver pools caught his eyes. Draco Malfoy was watching him intently. Harry gave him a broad smile, which the blond half heartedly returned before going back to his breakfast. For some reason, Harry felt a bit disappointed, like he had wanted more. And he also felt more confused than ever.

His morning classes went by quickly, as Harry was extremely anxious to get to Potions. He was excited to possibly sit by Draco and tell him everything he had said to Hermione and Ron. He knew he'd be proud.

Harry felt confused again. Why did he care if Draco was proud?

And when did he simply become 'Draco'?

Finally, Potions arrived. Harry had never been more thankful for an angry Ron and Hermione – as that left the only open seat in the room next to him for when Draco arrived.

The blond barely made it before Snape closed the door and he quickly took the seat next to Harry. The Gryffindor could barely contain his excitement.

"I told them."

"Hmm?" The Slytherin said with much disinterest. Harry was a bit disheartened by this reaction.

"Um, I told Ron and Hermione your advice… about the Ginny situation," Harry mumbled.

Draco looked up immediately and stared at Harry to explain a bit more.

"I told them that it's not their relationship, so they should leave it alone. And they need to quit trying to change it because I can't make myself attracted to Ginny."

"Oh? And what did they say?"

"Well, they're not talking to me," Harry shrugged nonchalantly. Draco raised an eyebrow and chuckled with little humor.

"Bloody unbelievable," The blond shook his head. "They do deserve each other."

Just as Harry was about to question what Draco meant by this, Snape started to lecture. The rest of class went by in complete silence as Draco and Harry (though mainly Draco) worked on brewing a few small potions. And as soon as class was dismissed, Draco gave Harry a quick nod before heading toward the exit.

Harry decided to go visit Hedwig before dinner instead of having to sit in the awkwardly silent Common Room with Ron and Hermione. Hedwig was not at the Owlery but he felt like there was nowhere else he could go, so he simply sat there.

After about ten minutes of waiting for either Hedwig to arrive or for dinner to begin, a small school owl swooped in and dropped a small piece of parchment next to him. He stared at it sitting on the ground, and then glanced at the owl, who was nodding at him. He slowly opened it.

"_Potter,_

_Meet Pansy and I in an empty classroom near the Entrance Hall stairs. The particular one we'll be in is located in the large gap between the suits of armor. Be there at 8pm. No later._

_ D.L.M"_

Harry sighed. He had forgotten about the match making of Ron and Hermione. He raced out of the Owlery, running down the stairs and taking 2 or 3 at time, trying to find a clock somewhere to help him find the time.

Finally, a clock rang on the fifth floor a few doors down from where he was standing. He raced into the room, only to see it had just rang 8:00pm. Apparently, he had stayed in the Owlery much longer than he thought.

"SHIT!" Harry bellowed as he ran down the many flights of stairs to the bottom floor of the West Tower. He quickly reached the doors, and practically punched them open. He sprinted across the courtyard and into the main building. He pushed many students out of the way as he made his way across the ground floor and to the Entrance Hall.

He stood by the stairs, panting, and looked at the long row of suits of armor. He searched for the gap where the classroom would be located, and instead found about four gaps.

He sprinted off toward the first and opened it, only to find darkness. The next door simply just would not budge, not matter how many times Harry tugged it.

The clock above the Great Hall rang 8:15pm.

Panic rose over Harry as he ran to the next door. He stopped, however, when he heard two voices coming from it.

"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" He heard a female voice shriek.

"You brought this on yourself. Don't you DARE blame it on me," a smooth voice commanded harshly. Harry immediately recognized the voice.

"You do realize what this means, don't you?" The female voice threatened.

There was a tensed silence between the two voices. Harry slowly started to edge toward the door for a better listen.

"Yes," the smooth voice said, strained and tired. "Yes, I do realize what this means but I'm sick of you having that power over me. No one has power over me and no one will. Especially you." This last bit was said with a touch of disgust.

"Fine. Do whatever the fuck you like, but you'll regret this, Draco. I WILL ruin you." The female voice shot back, although a bit faltered. The door swung open and Harry jumped behind a suit of armor so he would not be seen or caught eavesdropping.

Pansy stomped out of the room, past Harry, and up the Entrance Hall stairs.

Draco slowly exited, sighing pathetically. Harry noticed he looked worn down, and he wanted to reach out and comfort him. He wanted to make him understand that although some sort of drama was about to go down, Harry would be there for him. But then, the blond was gone.


	5. Realizations

Hello all! I'm back with a new chapter. I've recently been (re)inspired as far as the story goes, so I'm really excited about where this is going. And I hope you are, too! Thanks to all who review and/or add the story to their favorites or story alerts. It makes me giddy inside, so keep 'em coming, yeah? :]

Quick Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

The next few days passed by slowly for Harry, as he never got a chance to be alone with Draco. Or even near him, for that matter. Every time there was an open seat next to Harry, Draco went the opposite direction and sat alone, and not even at a table on the Slytherin side (which Snape obviously paid no attention to). If they were alone in the hallway, Draco refused to make eye contact with him, and walked as close as possible to the opposite side from Harry.

Harry couldn't figure out why Draco was acting so strange, but he figured it had to do with the whispers around the school. He knew that for sure.

Harry had yet to find out what these whispers were about, but he saw them everywhere. When Draco entered a room, the whole room would start to whisper. Some girls squealed in their seats. Slytherin guys were obviously disgusted, and every other guy simply tensed up and refused to unfreeze until Draco was seated.

Except Harry. When Draco entered a room, Harry automatically leaned toward him, like he was drawn to him. But Draco never looked at him. He looked down at his feet and always shuffled to the back of the room, alone.

After a week of silent treatment and whispers, Harry gave up. After Potions one day, he practically ran to catch up to Draco.

"Hey! Wait up!"

The blond turned around, but still made no eye contact with Harry.

"What do you want, Potter?" he mumbled.

Harry was silent for a while. The sight before him was not the Draco Malfoy he used to know. This Draco looked sad and beaten. And a bit hungover.

"Talk to me." Harry said simply. Draco looked up at him with huge, pathetic eyes.

"What?" The blond said, disbelievingly and a bit viciously.

"Talk to me. What's going on with you?"

Draco looked at Harry like he had a third eye.

"Don't play stupid with me, Potter. I know you know. Everyone bloody well knows. And if you're trying to get me to say it out loud, you're wasting your time." Draco hissed at him, and then the Slytherin turned on his heels quickly and stomped off.

Harry stood there, frozen, unable to go after him. So the whispers were connected to Pansy's threat. That made a bit more sense.

But still, what were they about? That was the question driving Harry completely insane.

--------

At dinner, Harry sat down next to Hermione, who was sort of speaking to him. He said hello to Ron to be polite, although he knew he wouldn't get much of an answer back.

As the trio ate their dinner silently, Harry got the courage to ask Hermione what was going on. Surely she would know.

"Hey, Hermione, um, what's going on with the Drac- I mean- Malfoy rumors exactly?"

Hermione gave him a curious look, but before she could answer, Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown suddenly appeared.

"Oh my, oh my. You mean you don't know, Harry?" Parvati said playfully.

"Um, no. Or else I wouldn't have asked."

The two girls looked at each other and bursted into girlish laughter.

Ron looked up from his food. "Oi! I don't know, either. Stop being rude and tell us!"

The two automatically stopped laughing and looked down at Ron and Harry, and then Hermione, who shook her head. Lavender's mouth dropped open.

"How could you not know?!" she shrieked.

"It's only the juiciest gossip to hit Hogwarts since… since…" Parvati screamed

"Since ever!" Lavender rang out.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Will you two just tell us already?"

The two girls smiled.

"Of course! Apparently, a very inside source decided to tell the entire school about little Drakey Wakey's dirty secret!" Lavender giggled maniacally.

The trio looked at each other and then back at Lavender and Parvati, who were obviously giving them a dramatic pause.

"Draco Malfoy swings for the other team!" Parvati finally spilled out.

Ron spewed pumpkin juice all over Neville, and Hermione screamed. Harry simply sat there, his ears ringing with those three words… 'the other team'. What exactly did that mean?

"You mean… you mean…" Ron was ghostly white.

Parvati and Lavender nodded furiously.

"Yes, Ron, he likes blokes." Lavender staged whispered.

The trio looked at each other wide eyes. The two girls laughed loudly.

"Well, we've done our job here. Ta-ta!" The two chorused, and walked off.

Harry looked at Hermione and Ron, and saw two horror-stricken faces.

"Well," Hermione cleared her throat daintily. "That was unexpected."

Ron suddenly burst into laughter. Hermione threw him a dirty look.

"Bloody hell," he said while wiping tears away from his eyes. "That's fucking rich, that is."

"Ron! Really, are you so insensitive? It's obviously ruined him!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Um, yes. Hermione, that's why it's so fantastic!"

Harry suddenly felt anger rush through him, and open his mouth to say something. However, Hermione beat him to it.

"You're pathetic, you know that? I know he's always laughed at your misfortunes but that doesn't mean you have to stoop down to his level." She gathered her things to leave.

Ron looked shocked.

"But Hermione-"

"Shut up." And with that, Hermione was out of the Great Hall.

Harry looked at Ron with wide eyes, but Ron was looking down at his food, a look of shame on his face.

"Mate?"

Ron merely grunted in response.

"You alright?"

Ron looked up at Harry, making eye contact with him for what felt like the first time in weeks.

"That was harsh."

Harry gave him a small smile. "It wasn't too bad."

Ron scoffed and then smiled at Harry.

"Sorry I've been so weird about the whole Ginny thing."

The apology was music to Harry's ears. He laughed.

"Yeah, you've been quite the tosser."

Ron threw a roll at him. "Oi, you've been a git, too!"

Harry threw a roll back, laughing loudly as Ron caught it and took a huge bite.

Then, a streak of platinum blonde hair caught his eye. Harry looked up just as Draco was leaving the Great Hall. Ron looked in the same direction.

"Kind of funny, though. Malfoy being a bum bandit and all," Ron mumbled to no one in particular. Harry just nodded.

"Hey, mate. I'm going to go, er, see if Hermione is alright," Harry made to leave.

"Should I go, too?" Ron hesitantly asked with a mouth full of chicken.

Harry shook his head quickly. "That might be a bad idea right now."

Ron nodded and went back to eating.

Harry ran out of the Great Hall, hoping to catch up to Draco.

For some reason he couldn't explain, Harry's legs took him to the empty classroom where he met with Draco a week or so prior.

He threw the door open and found Draco sitting Indian-style in the middle of the room, staring at the wall. He looked distraught and sleep deprived.

Harry slowly walked over and sat next to him, staring at the same direction.

"Harry-" The bleak voice started, sounding a bit rough.

"I know. I mean, I didn't know earlier. But I do now."

Draco's mouth drew into a tight line. He looked as if he had aged 10 years.

There was a strange silence between them.

"I don't care." Harry said slowly, as the realization came to him.

Draco quickly looked at him with wide eyes, yearning for answers.

Harry shook his head and smiled slightly. He looked up at the blond.

"I really don't care."

Draco blinked a few extra times and went back to staring at his space in the wall.

"She ruined me," Draco strained out. "Everything I worked for… my family worked for… Gone. Kaput."

Harry scooted closer, their arms touching. Harry's insides smiled at the warmth.

"Ruined," Draco's voice cracked. His breaths became ragged, almost as though he was about to hyperventilate.

Harry shushed him gently and unconsciously stroked his hand "It's okay. You'll figure it out… We'll figure it out. I promise."

Draco's breathing calmed, and he slowly leaned into Harry's arm.

The two sat there for what seemed like hours, staring at wall, in sweet silence.


	6. Daddies, Deceit, and Jealousy

Hello all! Sorry it's been so long - my finals pretty much took over my life. Thankfully, summer has arrived and I am FREE!

Also, quick tidbit of info, but I counted the other day and I'm on 45 favorite story/story alert lists. This is truly AMAZING and makes me so so happy. Thank you all! And thank you lovely reviewers for letting me know your thoughts on the story and how it's progressing. LOVE LOVE!

Quick disclaimer: I own NOTHING but the plot.

* * *

Draco and Harry had a secret friendship of sorts. After dinner every night, they would meet in the cob-webbed classroom and bitch, moan, discuss, and gossip.

Well, actually, just Harry. Draco would just sit there, listening intently while laughing, snorting, and cursing in all the right places.

Harry couldn't explain why or how it happened. There had been no truce, no apologizing for the past years of being complete wankers to each other. And yet, it felt just right to him. Yet, wrong at the same time. He absolutely hated keeping their friendship a secret, but he knew it was too soon to tell anyone. Especially Ron and Hermione. He was pretty sure they would have a heart attack.

It was almost a routine. As soon as Harry got away from Ron and Hermione after dinner, he would run to the classroom - hoping he wasn't super late. When he got there, he sat himself next to Draco and would start talking about his day.

However, this night was different. When Harry sat down and opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by the blond's silencing glare.

"Um, Draco? What's wrong?" Harry hesitated after some silence, crossing his fingers that it was alright for him to talk.

Draco said nothing. He simply pushed a crumpled looking piece of parchment into Harry's hands.

_Draco,_

_Your mother and I have just received your shocking news. I've never been so thoroughly disappointed before in my life. You are an utter disgrace to this family. This had better be a rumor or a distasteful joke. If it is not, then feel free to come home and pack up your things. I will not tolerate a homosexual Malfoy living under my roof. Fix this, or you shall suffer the consequences. _

_Your Father_

Harry gulped. "Oh, shit."

"Oh SHIT is fucking right! He's going to fucking kill me!" Draco exploded. "This was not supposed to get to my father. What the fuck am I going to do?"

The raven haired boy thought about this for a while. The blond simply looked at him with the most adorable pout Harry had ever seen. He just wanted to kiss it off-

_WOAH! What the hell?_ He quickly shook off the thought.

"Don't write him back," was all Harry could come up with. He winced when Draco cut him another glare.

"And what if he comes to find me? To talk to me? If I never write back, he's going to know something's wrong."

"Okay, well, don't write him back just yet then," Harry continued. "Just take some time to work out what you'd want to say to him."

"That would give me a bit more time to fix this," Draco mumbled after a few moments of silence. Harry quirked an eyebrow at this, but didn't press it any further.

"Yep. You've got to do what you've got to do," Harry concluded, smiling at the boy sitting next to him. Draco returned a small smile, and said nothing else. A tense silence filled the room.

The Slytherin suddenly jumped to his feet and walked quickly to the door. Harry was soon on his feet as well.

"Wait, where are you going?" Harry questioned, a bit hurt their meeting was ending so soon.

"Doing what I've got to do," Draco shot over his shoulder. "I'll see you later, Harry."

The door slammed shut behind him, and the Gryffindor felt the sound rumble through his chest.

* * *

Harry woke up late the next day, barely leaving himself time for breakfast. He hurriedly took a shower and got dressed, making it down to the Great Hall just in time to hear the whispers. And he heard them everywhere.

"Did you hear?"

"With _her_?"

"I thought he was gay!"

"Guess not!"

"Maybe it was a desperate cry for attention?"

"Maybe he was just confused!"

"Hell, I'm confused now!"

Harry was in shock. The rumors couldn't be true. It didn't make any sense. And yet, there he was. The Slytherin was sitting in the center of the table, with his arm linked around Pansy Parkinson, and her head snuggled into his chest.

Harry heard his heart beating in his ears and he felt like his brain was about to explode. This could simply not be happening.

He blinked several times to see if it was a hallucination caused from his lack of sleep, but it wouldn't go away. He felt like he had to vomit.

Harry suddenly turned around and threw up in the aisle between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables.

"Harry!" Hermione gasped. "Are you alright?"

She patted him on the back as he coughed into his napkin. All he could do was nod.

"Are you sure, mate? That was kind of disgusting," Ron mumbled, with a huge piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth. Hermione shrivelled her nose in disgust.

"Really, Ron," She snapped, before turning her attention back to Harry. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

"Is it true?" Harry choked out.

"Is what true?"

"Pansy and... and..." He couldn't even say the boy's name. It suddenly felt wrong.

Hermione frowned and nodded.

"Yes, apparently they started dating last night. I have no clue why though," She said more to herself as she gathered her things for the first class.

"You mean you haven't heard?" Two voices chorused. Hermione jumped out of her seat.

Harry turned around to see Parvati and Lavender standing behind them, with arms hooked together and with faces absolutely glowing with new, juicy gossip. He couldn't help but roll his eyes.

"Really! You two shouldn't sneak up on someone like that," Hermione chastised once she caught her breath.

The two girls simply looked at her with a blank expression. Hermione sighed dramatically.

"Anyway," She snapped. "You were saying?"

"Oh yes!" Parvati squealed.

"It's quite delicious. I can't believe you haven't heard!"

"Oi! Spit it out, already!" Ron yelled from the table, mouthful of bacon and juice. The two girls could only hold a disgusted look for a second before their excitement took over again.

"We've heard from a very reliable source-"

"A very reliable source indeed!" Lavender chimed in.

"That Draco told Pansy that he was never really gay, and then asked her out!"

"How random is that? Well, Pansy nearly pissed her knickers."

"You know she's fancied him since first year!"

The two girls screamed in giddish laughter as they walked off towards class.

Harry's ears were still throbbing. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. He couldn't do anything but stare at his untouched breakfast.

Hermione and Ron shared a worried glance.

"Erm, mate? Are you sure you're alright?"

Harry simply just stared at Ron. He felt like he couldn't move his mouth, much less produce an answer.

The two shared another glance. This time it was contained more 'what the fuck is going on here' rather than concern.

Without a word, Ron and Hermione slowly stood up and walked off to class. Harry could feel their occasional glances as they left the Great Hall.

A loud clock bell rang out, indicating that it was time for class to begin.

And all Harry could do was sit.

* * *

What felt like hours later, Harry finally peeled himself from the bench, and slowly trudged his way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

As he laid himself down on his bed, his brain started to work again. Suddenly, thousands of thoughts ran through his brain. Thoughts about Draco, himself, he and Draco, Draco and Pansy, the matchmaking business, the cobwebbed classroom, the dreams, the letter from Draco's father, the friendship.

And the thought of why. Why had Draco done that so suddenly? Why did he just randomly deny his sexuality? And why Pansy?

And most importantly, why was it bothering Harry so much?

That's the question that really got under Harry's skin. None of really made sense to Harry, but this one issue confused the hell out of him. Why should he give a fuck what Draco does? Or, even better, why should he give a fuck about Draco? Draco obviously didn't give a fuck about him. Draco simply didn't care. It was so clear, so precise, so... finite. So, why did Harry care that Draco didn't care?

This thought stung Harry. It clawed at his heart. He felt like something was itching at the back of his throat. Heat rose up his neck and crept onto his face. His ears burnt. His eyes stung. Surely, he wasn't hurt. Surely, Draco didn't hurt him. This was just anger. Anger at Draco's lies. Anger at his confusion. Or maybe it was both, a small voice said.

"Shut up!" Harry screamed to the silent room. The rage echoed off the walls.

Harry couldn't stand to be like this. He felt weak, and he hated to feel weak. He had to talk to Draco. He wasn't sure why, but he felt like he had to figure out what happened after their meeting that led to this.

Harry ran out of the Gryffindor Common Room, and hearing the bell strike for lunch, ran straight for that familiar classroom. He knew Draco would have to pass it to get to the Great Hall from Transfiguration. And so he waited.

A few minutes later, he saw that familiar streak of blond and grabbed at it, dragging the boy into the classroom.

"Ow! What the fuck is this?"

Harry slammed the door and glared at the Slytherin.

Draco rolled his eyes. "And what is it you want, Potter?"

Anger coursed through Harry's veins.

"Oh! So I'm just fucking 'Potter' now?"

Draco stayed silent, looking past Harry.

"I want to know," Harry continued through his teeth. "What the hell is going on right now."

Draco raised an eyebrow.

"What are you talking abo-"

"You know bloody well what I'm talking about, Draco. Don't play dumb with me! What the FUCK? Pansy? I thought you were gay!"

Draco tensed at this.

"I thought I was, Potter. Turns out I was just ashamed of my true affections for Pansy. I've been hiding them all this time, trying to rid myself of them. Fortunately, I've seen the error of my ways, and I have come to my senses."

Harry snorted with bitter laughter.

"Well, if that wasn't fucking rehearsed! How many times did you practice that one, huh Draco?"

"Just shut the fuck up. This is none of your business!"

"Like fucking hell, it's not! I thought we were becoming good friends! And you go and pull this secret shit on me? Oh, let me guess. This has to do with Daddy, huh? Don't want to upset him! Don't want him to fucking know who you truly are for fear of him taking away your petty inheritance money! That's low and pathetic, even for you," Harry bellowed, all of it in practically one breath.

Draco looked down at the floor, refusing to make eye contact with the raven-haired boy who was standing nose to nose with him.

"You don't know shit, Potter. You don't know fucking SHIT!" Draco yelled and turned to go.

Harry's heart stung again. Why were they fighting? This didn't feel right. He hated this.

"Wait! Draco, please!" The Gryffindor pleaded. The blond halted, and slowly turned to face him. "Just, please, tell me..."

"Tell you what?" The ice prince said bitterly, his voice cracking a bit.

"Tell me why."

The two stared at each other in silence for a few minutes. A few minutes of agony and hurt, and anticipation.

"I did what I had to do, Harry," Draco whispered gently. "Please, don't ask any more of me."

Then, Harry was alone, and feeling like the room was about to collapse onto him. Why did this hurt so much?

The thought of possibly being attracted to Draco came into his mind quite a few times, but Harry simply swatted that away. That was foolish. And insane.

He felt betrayed. And strangely, jealous. Like Pansy was taking Draco away from him. He had to stop that from happening before it was too late.

And Harry felt that there was only one thing to get Draco back.

Wait, he meant to get Draco's _friendship_ back.

Yeah, yeah, Harry.

Harry raced down to the Great Hall and bursted loudly through its giant doors. He paid no attention to the silence that fell as his stomped his way across the Hall. He paid no attention to the whispers or strange stares. He had complete tunnel vision.

He reached his destination and cleared his throat loudly.

The young girl flipped around, hitting Neville's face with her hair.

"Harry!" She gasped.

"Ginny," He stated loudly, his voice echoing off the now silent Great Hall's walls. "I have something I need to tell you. I've been ashamed of my true affections for you. I've been hiding them all this time, trying to rid myself of them. Fortunately, I've seen the error of my ways, and I have come to my senses. Ginny, will you please be mine again?"

Ginny squealed and jumped into Harry's arms, giving him a giant, wet kiss. Hermione's jaw dropped. Ron stopped eating in shock, then grinned. Parvati and Lavender immediately started to squeal and whisper to each other. The entire Great Hall started to fill up with applause, whoops and hollars, 'aw's, 'oh's, and the occasional 'ew's.

Harry noticed none of this commotion, however. He was too busy looking over Ginny's flaming hair and concentrating on a pair of glaring, angry grey-silver eyes from across the room.


	7. Brawls, Detentions, and Business Deals

Hello! Thank you for the lovely reviews! I decided you all waited far too long for updates the past couple of chapters, so I worked hard to get this one up as soon as I could. I hope you enjoy it. :)

Quick disclaimer: NOTHING

* * *

The days went by, and every time the two boys saw each other, a snog fest with their respective new girlfriends ensued. It happened in the hallway between classes, it happened outside classroom doors, it happened before meals, during meals, after meals. It was much to Ginny and Pansy's delight, however the boys paid no notice to the girls. They were always too busy looking at each other, searching each other's eyes for the slightest hint of the hurt they were feeling. It had turned into a sick competition, and Harry didn't know how much longer he could take it.

He didn't enjoy snogging Ginny. It just felt wrong, just as it did before he broke up with her a month prior. He knew she liked it, so it did well for his ego. She would moan and rub her hands all over his body. But it didn't feel right, like it was even more forced than before. Luckily, no one had noticed that fact.

Well, or so he thought.

One Sunday evening, Harry was lounging around the Gryffindor Common Room, listening to Ginny discuss something about how Snape was completely awful to her that day. He wasn't really paying attention. He was looking into the fire's embers, thinking about nothing but Draco and wondering when this game would be done and things could go back to normal. It was nothing new. Lately, Harry did nothing but think about Draco. His soft face, his pink lips. His icy eyes and the way they bore into his soul. His pointed nose. His thick, almost white eyelashes. His velvet smooth voice that always managed to make Harry's insides feel tingly. It was all very confusing. He knew why he felt this way, but he was having a difficult time accepting the fact. Especially since Draco had denied his sexuality and started seeing Pansy. The idea still stung, almost as though Draco had denied Harry along with it.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice snapped him back into reality.

"Huh?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

Harry froze, embarrased that he had gotten caught daydreaming yet again. He sighed and sat up to face the red headed girl.

"Sorry, Ginny," He explained, looking down at this hands. "I zoned out."

"Again."

"Yeah, again."

"Really, Harry," She growled at him. "You'd think that for once you could listen to-"

Suddenly, a loud slam could be heard from the table next to them, cutting Ginny off. The two looked at the study table, only to find Hermione glaring at them, fists clenched on the new shut book.

"Ginny," The brunette started slowly. "Could I have a moment alone with Harry, please?"

Ginny made to protest, but was cut off by another silencing glare. She quickly kissed Harry a goodbye before pouting and stomping off to her dormitory. She was soon replaced by a very cross looking Hermione Granger. Harry suddenly felt a bit frightened.

"Harry," She sighed. "We really need to discuss something."

"Um, yeah?" He gulped.

She looked at him pointedly, as though waiting for a confession from him. She got nothing, however, and sighed dramatically again.

"Harry, why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Ginny."

Harry's jaw tensed. "I told you, I saw the error of my way-"

"Oh, right. So even though just a few weeks ago you were screaming at Ron and I to let go of you dumping Ginny because you would _never_ be attracted to her, you suddenly have seen the light and realized that you love her?"

"Erm, well, yeah. Pretty much."

Hermione glared at him again. "Don't you dare feed me that bullshit, Harry James Potter. Ron may be oblivious to what's going, and Ginny too. But I am most definitely not. Something caused you to suddenly 'want' Ginny again, and I think it may have something to do with Malfoy and Pansy."

Harry froze. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, please. I've seen you look at him, and I've seen the _way_ you look at him. And I've seen the way you look past Ginny, especially when the two of you snog. It took me a while to figure out why you were so upset about the two of them dating, but it's very clear to me, Harry. You love-"

"No!" Harry yelled with such rage it caused Hermione to go white. "I don't love Dr- I don't love anyone! Mind your own fucking business!" And with that, Harry stomped up to his dormitory and forced himself to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Harry tried all he could to avoid Ginny, Draco and Pansy, and Hermione. He skipped breakfast, and was planning on skipping lunch, preferring instead to eat sweets in his room. During his free period, he hid in the library instead of going to the common room. He felt ashamed and so strange, like he was walking in slow motion all the time.

Harry kept his head down the entire the way to Transfiguration to ensure there would be no eye contact with Draco today. He didn't want to play that game. It was starting to make him sick.

"Well, well, Potter. Where's your little Weasel girlfriend?" He heard a snarky female voice say from behind him. Harry rolled his eyes as he ignored her and kept walking.

"Excuse the fuck out of me, Potter, but I do believe I'm talking to you." The voice yelled after him.

_Just keep ignoring. Don't answer her. Don't turn around. You'll see him. And her. Together._

Suddenly he was doused in water, drenched from head to toe. He whipped around and faced Pansy and Draco. She had a nasty smile on her face, while Draco was standing behind her, looking at the scene in front of him with wide eyes and eyebrows raised.

Pansy laughed at him and grabbed Draco's hand, sensually intertwining their fingers together. Anger rushed through Harry's veins. He was suddenly nose to nose with her.

"Leave me the fuck alone," He hissed in her face. He could feel her tense up.

Draco pushed Pansy back and stepped up closer to Harry. "Move out of the way, Potter. You and your pathetic temper are going to make Pansy and I late for class."

Harry didn't know what happened. Or why it happened. But something snapped. Something happened and everything went blurry and silent. He saw and felt nothing but anger as he pulled his arm back and punched Draco smack in the face with enough force to send the boy falling backwards.

Pansy started to scream and curse wildly as Draco slowly got up to his feet. Thick, dark red blood was flowing from his nose, and he was glaring daggers at Harry. A loud crowd slowly started to form due to Pansy's yelling. Draco put his hand to silence her and those standing around. The hall was filled with nothing but the occasional whisper.

For a moment, the two boys simply glared at each other. They slowly made their way closer, never losing eye contact with each other.

"What are you doing?" Draco whispered to Harry so only he could hear. The raven haired boy closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Hurting you like you hurt me," Harry answered back without thinking, and swung again.

This time Draco ducked and punched Harry in the stomach, causing him to double over. The crowd gasped loudly. Harry slowly rose up only to be punched across his face. He touched his stinging cheek, only to feel hot blood on his fingertips. He lunged at Draco and threw him against the wall, only to have Draco kick him in the stomach to the ground. Draco jumped on top of him and the two continued to throw punches. The crowd of students were yelling encouragements so loudly they immediately attracted the attention of Professor McGonagall, who at that time was wondering where all her students were.

"What in Merlin's name is this?" She yelled as she pushed her way through the large gathering of students. She looked down and gasped at the sight of the two boys struggling on the floor. The other students caught sight of the Professor and started to flee from the scene.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Malfoy!" She yelled sternly.

The two immediately stopped throwing punches and kicking and looked up at the elderly woman in front of them.

"Up. Now. And follow me to my office. I will have a word with you both."

Harry kept his head down the entire way to McGonagall's office, embarrassed at what had just happened. He knew he had a temper, but he didn't think he would just _punch_ someone like that. He glanced up at Draco. His hair was a fussy mess. His nose was covered in dry blood, his right cheek was still bleeding, and it seemed like his left eye would soon become black. Not to mention, the boy's robes were torn in places and his white undershirt was stained with blood. Harry went white with shame. He did all of that to Draco.

Then he remembered, Draco had bruised him up quite a bit, too. He didn't even want to know what he looked like. He knew for sure his glasses were done for. He couldn't even see out of the right frame it was so cracked.

When they reached the office, McGonagall sat down and stared down the two boys in front of her for what felt like hours. Harry kept looking down, occasionally glancing up at the woman, praying she would stop giving them the silent treatment and just get on with their punishment. Suddenly, she sighed very loudly and cleared her throat.

"As you know, Hogwarts does not tolerate any fighting, magical or physical. As sixth years, surely the two of you know better than to throw punches like drunken hooligans. You should be setting an example for the students younger than you," She stated with exasperation. Harry didn't miss that she looked at him pointedly at this last statement.

"Therefore," She continued. "I will be taking 30 points from both of your houses. And you will serving detention with me tonight, straight after dinner. Do _not_ be late." She waved her hand to dismiss them.

Harry followed Draco slowly out of the room. Harry opened his mouth to apologize, but Draco whirled around and was suddenly in his face.

"What the FUCK was that back there?" He shouted wildly.

"I.. I.."

"You what? You just wanted to haul off and knock the shit out of me?"

Harry shrugged. "More or less."

That was not the answer Draco was looking for. His jaw clenched and his eyes suddenly went very dark. Harry couldn't help but feel a bit frightened.

"You're pathetic. You always have been," The blond snarled.

"But, Draco, I-"

"I'm not sure what you're up to right now, but find something else to obsess about. I'm with Pansy now. You need to get over it. Move on. It's for my own good. Your own good," Draco whispered softly before turning around and walking to the dungeons.

Harry stood there, frozen. All he wanted was to disappear. Perhaps, a black hole could come swallow him up before detention tonight. Harry groaned loudly. Detention. For three hours. With an angry Draco Malfoy.

Yes. A black hole was sounding great about now.

* * *

Harry somehow had a stroke of luck and managed to avoid Ginny the rest of the day. He knew dinner would have been a problem, especially with his fight on every student's lips, so he had just skipped that altogether. He was now walking to McGonagall's office, clenching and unclenching his sweaty, shaking fists. He really could do without detention with Draco. Couldn't she have let them have separate detentions? They had almost beat each other silly, after all.

Harry walked in to find Draco already sitting down at the front of the room, and McGonagall standing by her desk.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. Just in time," She announced while gesturing to the open desk next to the blond. Draco didn't even so much as turn around and look at him. Harry could see a dark purple bruise underneath Draco's left eye, and he suddenly felt sick. He sat down and slowly looked up at the woman in front of him.

"Now," She stated with authority. "You two will be cleaning off my bookshelves and then arranging the books alphabetically. No magic," She gave Draco a stern look here. "I'll be back in a few hours. I have some other business to attend to."

She was halfway out the door before she turned over her shoulder and gave the boys a very tired, but harsh, look.

"Boys, no funny business. I mean it."

Then she was gone.

Harry turned to speak to the blond, but the other boy was already on the opposite side of the room, taking books off of a shelf. Harry slowly walked over next to him, but Draco paid no attention to anything but the books. The two didn't speak to each other. The sound of books being picked off of shelves and then slammed on desks echoed off the silent room's walls. Harry didn't think he could take it anymore. If he heard Draco slam one more book, he'd go insane.

The Slytherin took a heavy book and slammed it on top of a rather large stack.

"Okay. That's it!" Harry yelled to no one in particular. Draco raised an eyebrow, but then his mouth drew into his signature sneer.

"You know, Potter, I always knew you had a temper. Although, today it seems a bit more violent-"

"Why are you calling me Potter?" Harry interrupted. Draco's jaw tensed again, but gave no answer. The Gryffindor sighed and continued. "Listen, I'm sorry I punched you, yeah? And I'm sorry I did this," Harry went to lightly touch the bruised eye, but recoiled when the blond hissed at him.

He continued, "It's just all of this is happening so fast, without a real explanation. I thought we were become close, good friends. We never once said sorry for the past six years of being complete tossers. But I didn't... I was hoping it wasn't needed. I thought you had changed. But you really haven't, have you? You're up to your old tricks again. And again, I'm at the receiving end of it. Just quit being such a twat and tell me what's going on."

Draco slammed another book down on the desk and stayed completely still, inhaling deeply. Then he looked up at Harry through his thick lashes, and drew his mouth into a smirk.

"I don't really owe you an explanation, Potter. Really, shouldn't it be obvious? You did all of this. All of it. You started this shit," He drawled bitterly.

Harry was flabbergasted, angry, and confused. Very, very confused.

"The fuck? Since when is it _my_ fault? You've got to be kidding me!"

"You told me to fix it! You told me to figure out what I needed to do take some time before I face my father. _You're_ the one who told me I've got to do whatever I've got to do!"

Harry wrinkled his nose at the nasely impression Draco had done. "Was that supposed to be me?"

He was answered with another glare.

"Bloody hell! I didn't mean it like that! I meant figure out a way to tell your dad it was true! Not just act like it was a lie, or some phase!"

Draco looked at him with such intensity that the hair on the back of Harry's neck stood up.

"Have you _met_ my father? Do you have any idea what he'd do to me?" He slammed the books with angry force.

Harry rolled his eyes dramatically and snorted. "Really, now. Don't be so dramatic. So he'll be pissed. What father wouldn't be pissed? You can't change who you are, Draco. It's just not right."

Now Draco rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, _you_ obviously don't understand what I'm talking about. Since when do you know about fathers?"

It hit Harry like a ton of bricks. He just stood there, rooted to the ground. All he could do was stare at Draco's mouth. Had those words really come out of his mouth?

"Pardon? What the fuck did you say about my father?" Harry finally choked out.

"Alright, so that was a tad harsh," Draco sighed, and went on before Harry could say anything else. "It's just that... that you don't understand. You've never lived in my house. My father struts around preaching pureblood-this, and next Malfoy heir-that. If I'm gay, I can't produce an heir. Besides the obvious scandal and tarnishing the name and blah blah blah, that's what pisses him off most."

"You can adopt... surrogates and what not," Harry pleaded. Why was he so bent on having Draco reclaiming his homosexuality?

Draco shook his head sadly. "Let's just drop it, Harry. Okay?" He moved onto the next bookshelf.

Harry was too pleased that he was called Harry to argue, so he just nodded and started to move books again. They worked in silence for about an hour, slamming books on the desk. There was an occasional clearing of the throat or a crack of knuckles. Harry really was going to go insane from the still silence.

"How are Weasley and Granger doing?" Draco asked, obviously trying hard to make conversation.

"You didn't call them Weasel and Mudblood," Harry smiled. "That's nice of you."

Draco shuddered. "Please, don't call me nice. But, like you said during our first meeting, if I'm going to match them I should call them by their names. Correct?"

Harry had completely forgotten about the matchmaking he had asked Draco and Pansy to do. He suddenly felt very stupid. Better lie to not show it.

"Oh, yeah. Correct."

"You forgot about it, didn't you?"

Shit.

"Uh... Yeah, actually."

Draco smirked. "I figured as much."

Harry scowled. "To answer your question about Ron and Hermione, I'm not sure. They spend a lot of time together, as usual. But... but I don't know. Hell, I'm just bad at the whole romance thing, aren't I? Bollocks, I don't even know what to look for."

"Well, that doesn't help me any," Draco frowned and moved onto the last book shelf. "Try harder."

Harry groaned. "It just doesn't work like that!"

"Then Pansy and I need to see it for ourselves."

Harry's heart fell into his stomach when he heard Draco pair the names that way. And then he registered what the blond had just said.

"Hold on. What are you suggesting? That Ron, Hermione, and I hang out with you and Pansy?" Harry laughed out loud at the thought of it. However, he cut himself short when he saw the serious look on Draco's face.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. It may be painful, and Merlin knows it will be torture, but we dedicated ourselves to this hopeless case a few weeks ago. We won't stop til it's finished. So unless you can help us get information-"

"I just can't. I'm awful at this stuff," Harry shook his head in defeat.

"Then you _will_ do as I say, or you can say farewell to your precious little friends ever finding love with each other," Draco commanded as he rearranged the last shelf of books.

Harry huffed loudly, preparing an argument for the blond, but he was cut off by Professor McGonagall's return.

"Oh! Boys, you've finished thirty minutes early," She gasped, truly surprised. "You're dismissed, but you'd be smart to not let me catch you two fighting like heathens again. There will be stricter consequences next time."

The two walked out of the room, and then Draco suddenly turned on Harry.

"This Friday evening, Pansy and I will be have a little... _soirée_, if you will. The usual classroom. Bring your groupies, got it?"

"You want me to bring Ron and Hermione to a party thrown by you and Pansy? You're mad. Absolutely nutters. They won't go for that!"

Draco gave him a pointed look.

"Do your job, and we'll do ours." The blond turned on his heels and stalked off towards the Slytherin Common Room.

Harry just stood there, thinking about all the disasters that could from this. Deaths, fights, duels... The horrendous possibilities were endless. It not only worried him what could happen once they got there, but how in the hell was he supposed to get Ron and Hermione there? He could lie about that, obviously. But they'd know the truth once they got there. How was he supposed to make them stay?

Groaning, Harry trudged his way back to his room.

He _really_ wanted that black hole right now.


	8. Drunken Encounters

Okay loves! New chapter! It's party time, and who knows what will go down!

Fair warning: there is smut in this chapter. If you're uncomfortable with things of that sort, just get the gist of it and scroll down to the end :)

If you _do_ like things of that sort, however, well... I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!

Disclaimer: NOTHING

* * *

Unfortunately for Pansy and Ginny (but fortunately for the rest of Hogwarts), the snogging had cut down quite a bit. Harry wasn't quite sure of Draco's reason, or if the blond had called off their little 'game'. He honestly didn't kiss Ginny much all week because his mind was preoccupied with Friday.

Harry had been dreading the party all week so much that he hadn't even bothered to bring it up to Ron and Hermione. Crossing his fingers that he could somehow convince the two of them to attend, Harry decided that speaking to Hermione first would be the best action to take.

Thursday evening, Harry walked into the Gryffindor Common Room to see Hermione sitting at a study table alone. And no Ron in sight. He practically skipped to her.

"Hey," He waved at her.

She looked up and grinned. "Oh, hello, Harry," She gestured for him to sit down next to her. He quickly hopped in the seat and twiddled his fingers for a bit, trying to think of a way to bring up the party.

"Harry," She sighed. "_Do_ stop fidgeting."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Listen, Hermione I have something to speak to you about."

She put down her book and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Oh?"

Harry quickly racked his brain for a clever way to say, "Oh, our enemies, you know – Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson? Yes, well, funny thing, actually. I ran into them the other day and they invited us to a _party_. Wouldn't that be lovely?"

He groaned inwardly. This obviously wouldn't go too well.

"Well, funny thing, actually… Malfoy-"

"Oh, so you've finally fessed up, have you?"

"Eh?"

She looked at him with knowing eyes. "_Malfoy_. This is about Malfoy, right?"

"Yes. Well, sort of. Practically. Yeah."

She raised an eyebrow at him. He sighed loudly.

"It's just… there's this party on Friday night," She gave him a disapproving look here. "And, Malfoy is supposed to be there. But I wanted to go. I… I want us to go." Harry bit his lip and clenched his fists, waiting for her to explode.

She gave him a small smile.

"Oh, Harry. I understand."

Harry had to do a double take. "Sorry?"

She sighed dreamily. "You're in love with Malfoy, so you want to go to the party to see him. But you also want to take us there so it's not _completely _awkward."

"What?" He bellowed.

She patted his hand. "There, there. It's alright. Don't you worry now. Your secret is safe with me. I won't judge, Harry. Although, couldn't you have picked someone a bit more… well, _decent_? Or a bit nicer?"

Harry simply gurgled an answer. He couldn't register what was happening.

"Never you mind," She giggled. "Like I said, I'm not one to judge. I'll ask Ron at breakfast tomorrow. Of course, I'll leave the Malfoy detail out, but we'll definitely be there."

She gave him a quick wink and went back to her books.

Harry couldn't speak.

Well, _that_ certainly hadn't gone as planned. But, at least he succeeded in getting them _to_ the party.

Now, he hoped it wouldn't be a complete disaster.

* * *

Harry was pacing around the Common Room, waiting for Ron to get back from his detention and for Hermione to finish getting ready. His stomach was in a complete knot, and his mind was scrambled. He was extremely nervous about how this night would turn out.

He had told Draco during lunch that Ron and Hermione would be attending. However, when Harry mentioned that they probably weren't expecting an intimate get together with two Slytherins and thus would probably get pissed and run out, Draco had simply grinned and said, "Don't you worry your little mind. I've got this covered." Harry wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but he knew that grin. That grin meant trouble. So, Harry couldn't help but worry.

Finally, Ron walked through the portrait hole covered in Stinksap. Harry made a face and stifled a laugh while the red-head gave him a pitiful look.

"I'm going to go clean off," He sighed before he trudged to his dormitory.

"Harry!" Hermione called from the top of the girl's dormitory stairs. Harry grinned up at her. She looked nice, wearing a black skirt and purple sweater, with her hair in a French braid. He looked down at his own ensemble, jeans and a button up black shirt, and frowned. Why was he always underdressed?

Ron was soon back, looking much cleaner. He immediately blushed when he saw Hermione and Harry smiled. If he could get them to stay, maybe this whole plan could _actually_ work.

"You look really nice, Hermione," Ron muttered, the color of his face almost matching his hair. Harry nodded in agreement. She smiled modestly, a light pink covering her cheeks. She looked up at Ron with flirtatious eyes, and Harry could've sworn Ron's face was now tomato red.

"Well, ready to go? We're already a bit late," Harry mumbled, looking at the grandfather clock. Draco said the party was to start at 8pm, and it was already 8:30.

"Just a bit," Ron snorted.

The trio were making their way out the portrait when suddenly they were blocked by a flash of flaming red. Harry was suddenly looking down at Ginny, wearing a slinky strapless black stress.

"Oh, no you don't," She growled at him.

"Er, sorry?"

"You were all about to go to a party without me? I think not. I'm coming, Harry. As your _date_."

Harry bit his lip. He really didn't want Ginny to go. This could end up badly. He glanced at Hermione, who was giving him a sympathetic look that clearly said, "I know it blows but she is still your girlfriend."

Or maybe that was just Harry's subconscious.

"Alright, Ginny. Come on."

She grinned broadly as she followed Harry, linking her arm in his. Harry couldn't help but feel annoyed.

The four Gryffindors snuck around corners to avoid any professors or Filch, and finally made it to the cob-webbed classroom Harry knew so well.

It was completely silent.

"Harry, are we at the right place?" Hermione questioned, placing her ear to the door.

Harry looked around. He knew this was _the_ room. He nodded and quickly rapped on the classroom door.

The door burst open and hands grabbed at them. Suddenly, they were in a classroom-turned-dance party. A line of desks were placed together to make a drink station in the back of the classroom. The entire room thumped with the heavy bass of club music (Obviously, Harry concluded, Silencing Spells had been at work earlier.) It was incredibly dim and humid, with colored lights flashing from the top of the room.

It reminded Harry of the raves that he had seen on television back at the Dursleys.

Another thing Harry noticed was just how many students had shown up. There had to be at least twenty. He immediately recognized a few Slytherins, like Blaise Zabini, Millicent Bulstrode, and of course Crabbe and Goyle. He also recognized Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, and Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff.

On the dance floor were the Patil twins, Padma and Parvati, dancing to loud music with Lavender. He also could see Seamus, Dean, and a rather awkward looking Neville standing by the drink table.

"So, what now?" Ron asked nervously. Harry shrugged.

"Well, I don't know about _you_ three," Hermione smiled. "But, I'm going to get myself a drink."

She walked towards the drink table, and Ron immediately followed.

"Well?"

Harry forgot about the girl next to him. He looked down at her and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

She rolled her eyes. "Are you going to get me a drink or what?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I can."

Harry walked over to the drink table and grabbed two cups. He was pouring the dark mixture into one when he felt someone tapping his shoulder.

"I told you I'd take care of it," He heard a smooth voice say. Shudders went down his spine and his stomach started to flutter. He took a quick swig of his drink and immediately regretted it. He felt a slow burn run down his throat and his eyes watered. He turned around and faced the blond.

"Draco, what the hell is in this drink?"

"Oh, just a couple of different alcohols," Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "Mainly just Firewhiskey."

Harry's eyes bulged out of his head as they watered.

"Firewhiskey and _other _alcohols? Are you trying to get everyone pissed?" He hissed.

"Uh, yes. That is the point of a party," Draco rolled his eyes. He saw the look on Harry's face and lightly touched his arm. Harry felt a slight tingle through the sleeve. "Look, it's the easiest way to get everyone loosened up. That way, Pansy can talk to Granger and you or I can talk to the Weasel and we can figure out _exactly_ what's going on. Don't worry, Harry. This will work perfectly." The Slytherin winked at him and strutted off to speak to Pansy.

Shaking, Harry drank the rest of his drink in one gulp, ignoring the burning sensation that scratched his throat. He refilled his drink before heading back to Ginny.

* * *

Ginny and Hermione drank 5 cups of the black alcoholic mixture and Ron drank 7. Harry had lost count of how many cups he drank at 8. That was about an hour ago, and he had refilled his cup quite a few times since then.

Hermione and Ron were dancing provocatively underneath the flashing lights. They were both red faced from the alcohol and Hermione had the biggest, loopiest smile on her face. Harry couldn't help but giggle as he chugged down yet another cup of the hellish mix.

"Feeling good, Potter?"

Harry looked to his left to see Pansy filling up her cup. He nodded, grinning stupidly.

She smirked and sipped on her drink. She looked around them and got uncomfortably close to Harry.

"I see the way you look at him. I'm not blind, you know. You'd be smart to stay away from him, Potter. You're no good for him. I mean it," She whispered in his ear. Harry froze and looked at her slowly.

"I don't know what you're talking about," He mumbled and refilled his cup once more. She simply gave him a knowing look before heading off to the dance floor herself, grabbing Millicent's hand.

"What was she talking to you about?" He heard a silky voice slur. Draco was suddenly next to him, refilling his cup as well. Harry just shrugged, not wanting to bring it up.

Ron appeared next to him, sweating through his light green shirt and beaming. He fixed himself a drink and sipped happily.

"Having a good time, Weasley?" Draco drawled. Harry looked at him suspiciously, but the blond simply winked again. Harry felt his insides go tingly, so he chased it down with more alcohol.

Ron laughed and looked at Draco. "Yeah, Malfoy. I am. A really good time."

"I saw you dancing with Granger. Got pretty cozy there for a bit. You enjoy that?"

Ron turned even redder. "Yeah, I did. I… I really…"

The red head looked dreamily at Hermione on the dance floor, now dancing with Neville. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"You really…?"

"God, she's beautiful," Ron blurted out. "I think I love her. Well, not love. But like. But maybe… Fuck. I don't even know." He took a large gulp of his drink.

Harry and Draco gave each other a knowing glance and stifled their laughter.

"You like her, eh?" Harry asked, playing along.

Ron gave him a funny look.

"Bloody hell, Harry. I thought you'd have noticed by now. I can't get her off my mind!"

"Then why don't you ask her out?" Draco asked, leaning in as though he were genuinely interested.

Ron took another gulp of his drink, wincing at its strength. "I just… I can't help but feel like she doesn't like me like that. Like, I'm a brother to her. We've practically grown up together. I'm in a weird zone where she doesn't see me as shaggable or anything. I'm just… Just a brother."

Ron sighed sadly and took another swig.

Draco looked at Harry and winked again. Harry didn't know how much more of this winking he could take before he spontaneously combusted.

"You should go for it," Draco commanded. Ron nearly spit out his drink.

"Sorry? Come again?"

"I saw the way she was dancing on you, Weasley. She wouldn't dance like that on a brother." Ron blushed here and finished off his cup. "Just go for it."

Ron froze up, so Draco pushed him out towards the dance floor.

Hermione immediately gleamed and grabbed Ron's hand, dragging him to the center where she resumed her sensual dancing. Ron looked at Draco and Harry with a beaming smile. The two boys laughed loudly as they raised a glass to Ron and drank to it.

Finishing off what had to be his fifteenth cup, Harry turned to Draco.

Well, two Dracos. He was definitely seeing double.

"Let's go dance."

Draco smirked and Harry's heart fluttered. They walked slowly to the dance floor together and situated themselves next to Seamus and Ginny, who were both looking very drunk.

Harry stood there, looking up at the lights and let the music take him over. He was confused as to what came over him, as usually he despised dancing. But he just really felt like _moving_. He slowly started to move to the beat, and before he knew it, he was swaying his hips back and forth.

Draco started to sway with him with a seductive gleam in his eyes. They were pretty close since everyone was packed on the dance floor, and Harry could feel the blond's hip bone poking into his own.

They moved their bodies in time, panting and sweating. But they never took their eyes off one another. It was the hottest thing Harry had ever experienced, and he never wanted it to end.

Ginny suddenly called his name and he looked down at her smiling, droopy face. She jumped onto him and gave him a sloppy, drunken kiss. The crowd cheered momentarily before resuming their dancing. He slowly put her down when she started to hiccup and asked Seamus to watch over for her a bit more. Harry looked at Draco with a guilty expression but the blond just shrugged. They walked back to the drink table to fill up about six more cups for themselves before going to sit in a corner alone.

As Harry sipped on his drink, he watched Hermione and Ron. They were dancing just as sexually, but this time they were facing each other, nose-to-nose.

"They're going to snog," Draco drunkenly giggled.

"You think?"

"Oh, definitely. Look at the way they're looking at each other. Like they want to devour each other. You see that?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"Yeah, well, that's the snogging look."

Harry snorted. "I didn't know snogging had a look."

"Oh, really?" Draco questioned.

Before Harry could answer, the crowd of students started to cheer again. The two boys turned their attention back to the dance floor just in time to see Hermione and Ron snogging themselves senseless. Draco laughed loudly. Harry loved that sound.

"I told you," He stated simply.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, you are the matchmaking master."

Draco smirked. "Yes, I certainly did my job. I quite like that title, by the way. It's catchy."

Harry laughed and glanced at Draco, only to see that the boy was looking at him like he was hungry. The raven haired boy's heart stopped beating and he chugged down the rest of his drink.

* * *

No more than an hour later, the lights still flashed and low music played, but the entire party had died. A few people had left throughout the night, but the majority of the party goers were passed out drunk in random places around the classroom. Harry couldn't quite see them all through the dark (and his impaired state of mind) but he did see that Ginny was somewhat near him. Near her was Ron with Hermione sprawled out on top of him, their mouths pink and swollen from snogging so much. Harry had chuckled at how the matchmaking team's plan had worked so well when at the beginning of the night it had seemed fit for disaster.

The only two people up were Draco and Harry, who were busy finishing off the punch bowl of the Firewhiskey mixture. The two were so drunk they couldn't finish a sentence without hiccupping or slurring their words together.

"So, how's Ginny?"

"Eh, S'alright. I guess," Harry shrugged and hiccupped simultaneously.

"Care to 'splain?"

Harry sighed loudly and dropped onto Draco's shoulder. He could feel the boy's low breathing on the side of his face.

"I guess I'm not attracted to her anymore."

"Were you ever?" Draco laughed and hiccupped. Harry chuckled bitterly at this.

"I don't even know right now. I guess not. It's all confusing." He slurred while Draco nodded vigorously.

"And Pansy?" Harry asked politely.

"I don't want to talk about that," Draco groaned.

"Why not?"

"You know why!"

"I do not!"

Draco suddenly grabbed Harry's face and held it in his hands. His grey-silver eyes looked into Harry's with deep intensity.

"Harry, you know why I'm doing this."

"I know, I guess it just still-" Harry was immediately cut off when the other boy pressed his lips forcefully against his own.

Harry let out a small moan and kissed Draco back before the blond broke away.

"What was that?"

"I don't know! You tell me, you kissed _me_!"

The two boys stared at each other deeply for a few moments, searching each other's eyes for any sort of answer.

"Oh, fuck it," Draco growled with passion, diving back into Harry's mouth.

Harry wrapped his arms around the Slytherin's frame, pulling him closer. He slid his tongue around Draco's mouth, exploring it as the other boy did the same. Moans and loud pants were escaping their mouths but they didn't care. They were too wrapped up in each other.

Draco threw Harry on the ground, rolling on top of him. Harry kissed Draco with even more passion as he pulled off the blond's green sweater and white undershirt. He ran his fingers down Draco's back, melting as he felt the soft skin. Draco hurriedly undid Harry's shirt buttons and was soon rubbing on Harry's chest as they kissed each other hungrily.

The two boys sat up and started to kiss each other's body. Harry took to kissing every one of Draco's moles on his chest while Draco kissed up and down Harry's neck, leaving small passion marks.

Harry pulled himself closer and immediately felt Draco's erect penis on his inner thigh. Both boys groaned at the sensation. Suddenly, Harry was on his back again. Draco kissed the tip of Harry's chest, making his way slowly down as he undid Harry's pants. The blond let out the pink cock and softly stroked it while he kissed Harry in the surrounding areas.

Harry gave a guttural moan and bucked his hips, aching for more of Draco's touch. The Slytherin took the Gryffindor into his mouth and slowly worked his tongue down the shaft. Harry threw his head back, and the room started to spin. Pleasure ran up his spine as Draco sucked him and softly touched his stomach. Harry reached out and grabbed the blond's hair.

"Draco," he rasped. The blond stopped and pulled away, looking up at Harry with a devilish grin. Harry sat up and undid the other boy's pants with shaking fingers. He then pulled himself into Draco's lap, their cocks touching.

They looked into each other's glazed over eyes for a long moment before Draco grabbed Harry for another passionate kiss. Harry didn't know whether it was the current situation or the mass amount of alcohol he had consumed, but he suddenly felt extremely dizzy.

The two kissed each other in the nude for what felt to Harry like hours. Then, the raven haired boy just couldn't take it anymore. He slowly started to rock back and forth in Draco's lap, rubbing their aching hard cocks together. The blond gasped at the feeling as he threw his head back and started to rock in time with Harry.

Their sweaty bodies moved in time with each other as a gripping sensation ran through Harry's spine. It was like nothing he had felt before. He grabbed Draco and pulled him into another passionate kiss as they quickened the pace.

Soon, the sensation grew and Harry suddenly felt like he was going to explode. He let out a deep moan as he came, letting absolute euphoria take over his body. Draco let out a short cry as pleasure convulsed through his body. The two boys collapsed onto the floor in a sweaty, tired heap, smiling broadly at each other.

They stayed like this for a few moments and kissed once more before slowly reaching for their clothes and dressing themselves. Harry was so sweaty his shirt stuck to his back, and he noticed that Draco's bangs were stuck to his forehead.

They laid down next to each other and Draco mumbled a few counter curses to turn off the flashing lights and music. A few moments of silence passed between them.

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Are you asleep yet?"

He heard a snort. "No, Harry, I'm not."

"Oh. Sorry," Harry mumbled as he put his hand to his head to keep the room for spinning. _Bloody alcohol._

"What did you want?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure this was a secret. You know, between us?" Harry slurred.

"Oh, yeah. Of course. Just us," Draco replied sleepily.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes, letting sleep take over his exhausted and drunken form as he thought, _Yes, just us_.

Little did he know, there was a certain shocked red head who had just witnessed the entire ordeal.


	9. Secrets, Regrets, and More Business

Hello all! I am officially the worst updater in the history of . Ugh. So sorry- I got so busy with summer school and a play that I'm doing that it has literally taken me forever to write this chapter. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews that make me all fuzzy inside. And thanks for remaining so patient with me and not giving up on this story. :]

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

Oh, and there will be some POV-switching this chapter, but it'll be obvious when it happens. I promise it won't be confusing. :]

Quick Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Ginny awoke the next morning with a strange feeling. A part of her was disgusted at the smut fest she had seen last night when everyone thought she was sleeping.

She had been too drunk to fall asleep right away. Every time she had closed her eyes, the room had spun uncontrollably, making her extremely nauseous. She had tried to keep her eyes open for as long as possible to keep herself from vomiting.

And that's when she had seen it all.

Yes, a part of her was deeply repulsed by all the dirty acts she had witnessed.

And yet, it was an eye opening moment for her… in a good way that is. Or at least, she guessed the revelation was a good one. Sighing, she came to a definite realization on what she should do and decided she needed to speak to Hermione.

She slowly raised herself off the floor, groaning at the soreness she felt. She looked around the room to see half of the students who were in attendance at the party were gone. The room was humid with body heat and echoed with the sound of Ron's awful snoring.

Looking down in disgust at her brother (and trying to avoid the two snuggling men next to Ron), she noticed a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor was not by his side. She made her way toward the exit, slowly tiptoed over bodies. Ginny concluded that Hermione must have escaped to the Gryffindor Common Room sometime in the early morning hours.

Or at least she hoped that's where Hermione was. She needed Hermione's cleverness to help her come up with a plan. And she needed it _now_.

A small smile playing upon her lips, she raced up the stairs as fast as she could. A part of her couldn't help but be excited.

She finally reached the Common Room and found Hermione sitting at a table, a few books opened. Ginny rolled her eyes. Hermione _would_ be the type to wake up after a night of partying to simply study.

Ginny sat herself next to the brunette and cleared her throat. Hermione looked up and hesitated.

"Uh… Ginny? What's going on? You've got that look in your eyes, again."

"What look?"

"That somewhat scary, mischievous look you get when you get an idea," Hermione slowly explained.

The red head was slightly offended at this comment, but ignored it nonetheless.

"I have a favor to ask of you," She sang.

"I knew that was coming," Hermione sighed and closed her book. "Alright, what is it?"

Ginny looked around the Common Room to make sure no one was listening.

"I need your help with matching Harry up with someone," She whispered theatrically. Hermione's eyes widened but then narrowed with suspicion.

"May I ask why _you _want to match up Harry with another person?"

Ginny bit her lip and looked down at her fidgeting hands. "Well, let's just say I witnessed something last night that… that really made me think about Harry and I. Our relationship. Let's just say it made me grow up. And fast."

Hermione laid a gentle hand on Ginny's shaking one and patted it in comfort.

"What happened?"

Ginny threw her a quick pained glance and inhaled deeply.

"While everyone was sleeping last night, I… I saw something," Her voice cracked. "Harry must have thought I was asleep, but I wasn't. I closed my eyes for a small second but whenever I opened them he was snogging… and then shagging…" She couldn't find the strength to continue.

"Malfoy?" Hermione whispered in disbelief, more to herself than to the other girl.

Ginny cut her a quick glare. "How did you know that?" She practically growled.

The brunette blushed and looked around the room, ignoring the question.

"Hermione!"

"Yes?" Hermione asked innocently.

"What do you know?"

"Um… nothing! I just noticed it, also," She quickly lied.

Ginny looked at her suspiciously, but before she could protest, Hermione changed the subject.

"So, how do you feel about all of… the things you saw?"

The red head suddenly clenched her fist and set her jaw.

"It pisses me off! It absolutely disgusts me that he could do this to me, drunk or not," Ginny hissed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "If it makes you so angry, why are you encouraging it?"

Ginny's features softened greatly and she stared at the wall in front of her with slight adoration. A smile slowly grew across her face.

"It's strange. I may be a bit angry with him about what he did… Well, no, I'm very angry, actually. But I love him, Hermione. I have for a long time, and I care about him more than I care about us. If that makes any sense. Plus, I shouldn't be _too _surprised. Well, no. No, I should be surprised. I _am _surprised. But not about the two of us and our fate as a couple. He let me know many times how he felt about me. I'm like a sister. Like family. We were never, and we would, never be how I wanted us to be. He let me know this. Many times. When he asked me to be his again last week, the young puppy love I had for him fired up and I couldn't say no. I knew this would be our chance… our happily ever after. Now, however, after what I saw… I know better."

A lone tear quickly ran its way down a flushed, freckled cheek. Hermione grabbed Ginny's shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

The red head gave a humorless laugh before continuing.

"It hurts. It really does. But after the events last night, and if you've noticed it between them," Ginny cut off here, a pained expression flashing across her face for a small second.

She turned to Hermione with bright, serious eyes.

"I want to make him happy, Hermione. If it's not with me, so be it. But he deserves to be happy. So help me."

Hermione nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll help you. So what's your big plan?"

A broad grin spread across Ginny's face, her chocolate eyes gleaming with excitement.

"We go to the school matchmaker, of course."

* * *

Harry awoke with a pounding headache, and immediately started to regret putting so much of Malfoy's toxic drink to his lips.

He stirred a bit and opened one bleary eye, only to see Ron's shoe a near inch away from his face. He groaned and went to turn on his left side when something stopped him.

A warm hand gently laying over his waist.

A warm, _pale_ hand.

Harry immediately froze up and craned his neck back only to see a sleeping, yet smiling, Draco Malfoy spooning him.

He jumped up and stared down at the sleeping blond with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"What the hell is this?" He whispered to himself. He pulled at his hair, trying to recollect his drunken memories. Why was Draco sleeping next to him? Why were they so close?

Or better yet, where the fuck was he?

He quickly looked around the classroom, seeing a few other students sprawled across the dirty, sticky floor.

"Oh, right," He nodded. "The party…"

Then, the memories hit him.

Dancing to techno music (which he found hard to believe, since he absolutely despised dancing), Ron and Hermione snogging, Ginny trying to snog him but dancing with Seamus.

And Draco Malfoy.

The memories of the two boys kissing, holding each other, grinding against each other… all the memories poured down upon him in a single moment. Harry's hand clapped to his mouth in utter horror as he looked down at the sleeping blond, unsure how to react to the visions in his mind.

Suddenly, Draco started to stir, causing panic to surge through Harry's veins. He practically ran across the classroom to the door. He slammed it shut and plopped down on the ground, cradling his head in his hands.

"How? Why? _Why _did I let this happen?" Harry groaned to himself. He slowly got up and made the walk of shame back to the Common Room, praying to every existing higher power he could think of that the Slytherin would not remember anything and that no one else had seen their deeds.

* * *

Hermione had no clue how Ginny managed to rope her into this scheme. She likened it to having a weak moment when Ginny started to pour her heart out to her. How could she have said no to a monologue like that?

As the two girls walked down to the Slytherin Common Room, the brunette couldn't help but curse herself silently for saying yes to Ginny's pleading. She had a sinking feeling that this would go terribly wrong.

They waited around in the dungeons for about ten minutes, many Slytherins walking past them with odd or mean looks. Hermione couldn't blame them – they were practically in enemy territory. She was tense; anticipating for the moment would try and hex her silly.

She glanced at the red head next to her. Ginny was putting on a brave face through this whole situation. That's what Ginny always does. But Hermione knew better. She figured this characteristic of Ginny was because she was the only girl out of several brothers, so she had to act tough no matter what came her way. Not that she wasn't strong… But Hermione couldn't help but feel like Ginny's heart was slowly cracking underneath that smiling face.

"Hermione… you're staring, again."

The brunette jumped at the voice and blushed a bit. She always had a bad habit of staring at things when she analyzed them.

"Sorry," she mumbled, looking away and down the hall.

"So, is there something going on between you and Ron?"

Hermione turned toward Ginny so fast her neck could have snapped.

"Sorry?"

Ginny scoffed teasingly. "Oh, please. I saw you two last night. Totally pissed. Grinding and snogging on each other."

Hermione immediately felt her face turn ten shades of red. She had hoped that no one had witnessed her private moment with Ron.

Ginny took the girl's silence for an affirmative answer and looked away just in time to catch Pansy Parkinson walking down the hallway with Blaise Zabini. The red head waved and smiled, walking over to her, Hermione timidly following. The two Slytherins were shocked at first, but then sneers replaced their gaping open mouths.

"Weasley? What a surprise," She snarled, although it wasn't quite as harsh since she _was_ actually surprised.

"Parkinson," Ginny returned with a curt nod.

The pug faced Slytherin now turned her attention to the brunette, giving her a once over, and wrinkling her nose in disgust. Hermione had a violent vision in her head of ramming Pansy's head into the castle walls a few times. Her cheek twitched as she fought back the smile the daydream brought.

"So, how are you and the Weasel boy?" Pansy asked her, chuckling a bit. Hermione felt embarrassment creep onto her face once again.

"Why is everyone asking about that today?" She asked angrily. Pansy made to make another nasty comment but was cut off by Ginny clearing her throat.

"We need to talk. I've got a match for you," Ginny explained. Pansy's eyes brightened immensely and she waved a hand to dismiss Blaise, who rolled his eyes as he walked away.

"I'm all ears, ladies."

"I saw something last night at that party of yours. I wasn't too happy about it, and you won't be either, really. But it's obvious what has to be done and, as you're the school matchmaker, I'm hoping you'll help."

Pansy gave Ginny a strange, suspicious look. "Alright… who?"

Ginny quickly glanced at Hermione and took a deep breath.

"Harry and Malfoy."

Hermione bit her cheek again to keep from laughing at the priceless look on Pansy's face. The Slytherin girl had gone pale white, with her mouth practically dropping to the ground. Huffing as she regained her composure, she clenched her mouth shut and shook her head furiously.

"No, no," She rasped.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Parkinson, but Ginny saw the two of them last night shagging."

Pansy looked at Hermione with wide eyes before staring at Ginny, looking absolutely terrified.

"Really?" She whispered. Ginny nodded solemnly.

"But I thought you were dating Potter." Pansy continued, sneering.

The brunette could tell this hurt Ginny, as her usual brave face faltered.

"And I thought you were dating Malfoy," Hermione hissed in return for Ginny. The red head threw her a grateful glance as Pansy looked down at her feet.

"Obviously," Ginny continued. "They have no interest in us anymore. I don't know about you, but I love Harry… and I want him to be happy."

Pansy looked pained by this romantic declaration. Chewing on her lip and fidgeting with a stray thread on her robes, Pansy mumbled to herself for a few moments. Ginny glanced at Hermione and mouthed, 'The fuck?' All Hermione could offer was a shrug.

"Alright," Pansy said slowly. "I'll do it."

"You will?" Ginny asked, dumbfounded. She had obviously not been expecting this answer.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Weasel, Malfoy is already _out_, remember? It was only a matter of time."

Ginny thought about this and nodded. A grin fell on her face.

"Thanks, Parkinson. It'll be fun doing business with you," She held out her hand for a shake. Pansy looked at it with an odd look on her face before taking it, sighing dramatically.

"Yeah, Yeah. But listen here, Weasel and Granger. This is my matchmaking business, so we'll play by my rules, yeah? You aren't allowed to complain about anything."

Ginny nodded, so Hermione felt she should nod as well, although she thought this a very silly rule.

As Pansy turned to leave, Hermione couldn't help but wonder how this was all going to play out.

"Um, Parkinson? How exactly are you going to pull this off?" Hermione questioned as the Slytherin girl walked off.

"Oh, don't you worry your little minds," Pansy called back to them over her shoulder. "I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve. I am a Slytherin, after all." She laughed at this as she turned the corner.

Hermione couldn't help but feel the exact opposite of comforted by Pansy's comment.


	10. Some Conflicts

Another chapter! I hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for all the lovely reviews! :)

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

His entire Saturday and Sunday were spent in his room. Everytime Harry thought about Friday night, he felt slightly nauseated. Not because he didn't enjoy himself. He was sick to his stomach because... well... he enjoyed it a bit too much. He kept thinking about it and thinking about meeting Draco in the hallway, in a classroom, in the astronomy tower. The fantasies never seemed to end. He wanted it again, so badly. That's what made Harry nauseous. Harry desired Draco Malfoy.

Not that Draco was bad. God no, it had been amazing. And they were friends now, so it wasn't even the enemy factor. But... it was... _Malfoy_. Something about that fact made Harry want to disappear. It was almost depressing.

After returning from the party early Saturday morning, he had holed himself up in his room and refused to speak of what was bothering him. Ron seemed more concerned than Hermione for once. The brunette tried to act concerned, but she was a downright awful liar. Harry could see she was holding back a smile the entire time Ron questioned him about why he felt depressed.

Another reason Harry never ventured outside his room was because then he'd get carried off to the Great Hall by his friends, who would insist he should eat. And then, as Harry would pick at his food, _he_ would walk in. And Harry would, of course, have no choice but to look in his direction. And Harry wouldn't be able to help himself from looking him up and down. And the fire burning inside of him would just get worse.

And then, Harry might actually act on the desire and go up to _him. _But what could he say? Just the simple _thought_ of facing the blond was enough to make Harry extremely nervous.

So, Harry decided it would be best to just simply isolate himself from the world and have everyone leave him alone to die from the fires of his desire for Draco Malfoy. Not that anyone knew that was the reason.

And then, Harry got this great idea of not wanting Draco. He could easily just deny it, and it would eventually subside. Plus, he just had a bit of a crush. Probably due to the alcohol. He would never shagged Draco if it hadn't been for the alcohol. So why have things change without alcohol? It made no sense.

Right?

Harry fell deeper into his hole of depression. He knew that wasn't completely right, but he had to do something about this. He was getting pretty hungry.

Sighing and stiffly lifting himself off his bed, he made his way down to the Common Room to speak to the one person who could help him with this.

* * *

Ginny was a bit surprised when Harry approached her after 2 days of being practically non-existent.

When she saw him approaching her, Ginny couldn't help but feel a little pang of hurt and anger in her stomach. But it quickly subsided for butterflies. She truly loved him, and every night she would wish he would love her back. But she knew it would never happen. By hanging onto that childish wish, even at this moment, she felt like hitting herself.

She knew better than to keep feeling this way, she really did. However, all judgment died when he approached her Sunday afternoon.

"Ginny," He whispered softly. She felt electricity current through her skin. "We need to talk."

"Talk," She repeated dumbly. "Okay."

Harry looked around the room to make sure no one was in earshot before leaning in.

"Listen, Gin… At the party the other night, I did something. Something bad. And I'm…" He cut off and took a deep breath. "I'm really sorry."

Ginny felt herself go numb from the electric tingles.

"Party. Bad. Sorry," She mumbled inarticulately.

"Yeah, really sorry. I'll spare you the details," Ginny winced here. "But just know I… I regret it. And I still lo- care for you. Forgive me and let's go back to normal."

"Yeah, normal," The red head felt like she was in a trance.

Harry reached over and pulled the girl into a tight, yet awkward hug. It was awkward because for Ginny, the moment his arms stiffly wrapped around her, it felt wrong. It felt nothing like how she always dreamt for it to be. She snapped out of her trance immediately and stared in shock at a spot near the fireplace.

After never being hugged back, Harry slowly pulled back. He gave Ginny a small smile and walked off towards the portrait hole.

The moment he was gone, Ginny felt nothing short of infuriated. At herself, mainly. She had just let herself be brainwashed into getting back together with Harry when she was supposed to be directing him toward Malfoy.

"Bollocks," She hissed lowly before inhaling deeply and screaming "HERMIONE!" frantically at the top of her lungs.

She ignored the strange looks and whispers from her fellow students she continuously yelled for the brunette.

Finally, Hermione came stomping out of the girl's dormitories and stood at the top of the stairs, glaring down at the other girl. However, her glare quickly disappeared when she saw the look of terror on Ginny's face and she ran down the stairs. Tears welled up in Ginny's eyes.

"What? What's happened?"

"I don't even know. It's crazy shit, I tell you. We need to talk to Pansy and we need to talk to her tonight."

* * *

Harry was still too nervous to go down to the Great Hall. He knew he was hungry, but his insides were such a jumbled mess that he had no appetite. He wandered around the castle aimlessly for what had to be an hour until he somehow ended up at the Owlery.

Well, not exactly somehow. He had been thinking about talking to Draco and questioning obsessively on how exactly he was going to talk to the blond about or what he was going to tell him, and his feet had taken him to an answer.

Sighing, Harry transfigured a piece of hay into a small, rather pathetic piece of parchment. He searched around until he found a broken, dirty quill and an almost empty vial of ink next to the window.

He stared down at the page. Just a few days ago, he and Draco had been normal again. Close, even. He could talk to him about anything. But now that was all changed. The idea of talking to, and eventually facing, Draco terrified Harry to the core. It would be absolutely dreadful and awkward, Harry knew that much.

But he did still care greatly about the Slytherin, despite continuously yelling at himself to think otherwise.

Harry had only written Draco's name when he paused. He then spent a few minutes reconsidering whether he should write anything at all on the scraggly piece of parchment. Finally, he closed his eyes and quickly scribbled down a message before thrusting it onto an unsuspecting school owl and running for the exit.

* * *

Draco had been trying to play his usual calm, isolated self since he woke up Saturday morning, but his insides were so frantic he was anything but. He had been waiting to talk to Harry since his disappearance – which he was a bit irked by. Malfoy's don't get left in the mornings.

Yes, he was quite determined to meet up with Potter and give a nice piece of his mind on that matter. But Draco also just wanted to _see _Harry. To touch him, to taste him. It pissed him off, it really did. However, it angering him to no end didn't change the fact that Draco wanted Harry Potter.

Growling as the words continuously entered his mind, Draco searched for Harry at every meal so they could talk. Or just so he could see him.

The weekend came and went, and Draco was getting extremely frustrated that he had yet to find Harry.

In a foul mood, he threw himself from the Great Hall and started his stomp to the Slytherin Common Room (so he could pout by the fireplace.) He was intercepted by a small brown owl that flew around him in the Entrance Hall before dropping a small, ripped up piece of parchment in front of him.

Looking around first to see if it were meant for anyone else, Draco bent down to grab it and quickly unfolded it. He saw his name written with the worst penmanship he'd ever witnessed and was reluctant to finish the letter until he realized how familiar the scribbles were.

_Draco,_

_I need to __see_ _ talk to you. Meet me in the classroom at around 8pm._

_Harry_

Well, it wasn't much. But Draco was a bit too excited to complain. He folded the note and stuffed it into his pocket before heading to the Slytherin Common Room. However, no pouting would be needed, as he was now practically forcing himself not to bounce his way back.

"Fucking Potter," He cursed under his small smile.

When he finally got inside the dungeon doors, he saw Pansy waiting for him on the large green couch.

"Draco, come sit by me, please," She said sweetly.

Unnerved by her sudden kindness, Draco moved hesitantly to the couch and sat down. Pansy quickly grabbed his hand and laced their fingers together while smiling coyly up at him. Disgust sprinkled with guilt ran through Draco's body and suddenly, he was confessing.

"Pans, listen," He sighed, loosening his fingers from hers. "The party last Friday? I got extremely pissed and shagged Potter. And don't say anything about him because, and as much as it pains me to say this, I care about him. I _like _him. I'm sorry, but I can't date you. I can't change who I am."

Pansy looked at him in complete shock, and Draco tensed himself for a slap or at least some harsh words.

"Alright."

"Pardon?"

"Alright. Although I think you could choose better. Potter, though?"

"Pansy," He glowered.

"Yeah, yeah. I can't insult him anymore. I got it."

There was a small silence between them.

"So," Pansy finally whispered. "Are the two of you going together now?"

Draco shook his head.

"No, we're not."

"Have you seen him since the party?"

"No," He hissed, bitterly. "That git has completely disappeared."

Pansy nodded and looked around the Common Room, lost in what seemed to be thought.

Draco suddenly remembered the letter burning in his pocket.

"I'm seeing him tonight, actually."

The dark haired girl snapped her head towards him with wide, excited eyes. "Oh?"

"Yes, he's arranged for us to meet tonight."

"Well, that's good," She concluded after a small beat, her voice a bit shaky.

Another silence.

"What about your dad?"

Draco scoffed at this. "I'm not even sure Pans. It's going to be downright awful as it is, but introducing Harry Potter into the picture will be downright disastrous. I might have to completely defy him… Get disowned… Possibly killed… All that good business," He waved his hands nonchalantly. "I'd rather not think about it."

"Wow, Drakey. You? Defy your father? You must really like Potter," Pansy teased.

Draco looked up at her with a playful gleam in his eyes. "Perhaps."

The clock near them struck a quarter to eight and Draco quickly stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"My meeting with Potter."

Her confused and disapproving look said it all.

"No, Pans," He growled at her as he walked to the dungeon doors. "I don't care if I'm ridiculously early and look like a complete fool."

He heard her high pitched laughter echo off the cold walls, and couldn't help but chuckle bitterly along with her as he walked to the infamous classroom.

Early or late. That didn't matter. Draco was falling for Harry Potter. That alone made him a complete fool.

* * *

Pansy waited alone in the Common Room for a few minutes before feeling incredibly bored. Huffing dramatically, she gathered a few school things and decided she would just go to the library and complete her Potions homework there.

As she made her way up the stairs to the fourth floor, Pansy saw a flash of flame red hair and brown curls come at her. Suddenly, she was being thrown into a nearby, dark classroom.

"Granger? Weasley? Is that you?"

She heard a voice whisper _Lumos_ and faces slowly came into view.

"Parkinson, we have to speak to you," Ginny gasped, a bit out of breath.

"Immediately," Hermione said harshly.

"You couldn't speak to me in a less dramatic fashion? I was about to do some homework in the library."

"You can't go to the library now," The bushy haired brunette stated disbelievingly. "It closed a few minutes ago… It locks up at 8pm."

Pansy stared at the girl harshly for a bit.

"How do you know that?"

"Common knowledge, I thought," Hermione mumbled.

Rolling her eyes, Pansy sat herself on top of a desk.

"Alright, before you speak, an update on our matching for Potter and Draco. Draco fancies Potter – Merlin knows why – and they're actually meeting as we speak," The Slytherin girl beamed as if this was all her doing. "Now what's so important?"

Ginny gaped at Hermione and then stared at Pansy. "That's impossible."

"Sorry? I just spoke to Draco so I believe I know what's happening."

The strange silence and looks between Hermione and Ginny made Pansy second guess herself.

"What's happening?" She asked warily.

"We're not sure," Hermione answered slowly. "But Harry spoke to Ginny today and told her it was a mistake and he wanted to get back with her."

Ginny winced from the glare Pansy threw her way.

"And you did what?"

"I didn't do much," She stammered. "I was a bit surprised, so I didn't answer really. Just mumbled nonsense. But I think he took it as…"

"As?" Pansy prompted irritably.

"As a yes."

Pansy cursed up a storm while Ginny hung her head low and Hermione bit her lip.

"So, you're telling me that Potter is saying his night with Draco was a mistake and that he loves you. And he wrote to meet Draco, who is apparently in love with him."

"Erm," Hermione started.

"Yes," Ginny answered hesitantly. "I guess so."

The three were silent for a long moment.

"So, does this mean…" Ginny began in horror.

"That Potter is going…" Pansy continued, feeling quite nauseous.

"To end it with Malfoy." Hermione finished, her voice rough.

They stared at each other for while in utter shock before it finally hit them.

"SHIT!" They chorused, before frantically running out of the castle in search for a Plan B.


	11. Mistakes

Hello, all! New update. Yay! Thanks to all the reviews and adding to your story alert/favorite author/favorite story. It means SO much. You guys keep me going, no joke. :]

Some may notice I changed the rating on the story from T to M... That's because this chapter contains some delicious smut. And, after thinking about what I want to do for the rest of the story... I realized it's going to contain... well... quite a bit of smut actually. Sorry if that bothers anyone, but I'm the typical Drarry fan that loves Drarry sex so I definitely have to write it!

Enjoy!

* * *

The three girls ran desperately around the castle, earning many strange looks from students and ghosts alike. Finally, they realized running around was not getting anything done, so they halted and sat against a castle wall near the kitchens and Hufflepuff Common Room.

"Okay, so what exactly is the plan here?" Pansy panted. She took the silence as uncertainty.

"What we need to do," Hermione started to explain after catching her breath. "is come up with a plan. And fast."

Ginny nodded furiously, and the girls fell into deep thought. Silence filled the corridor except for the occasional echo off of the castle walls from students passing.

"Oh Merlin. This is impossible," Pansy groaned. "Why don't you just break up with Potter tomorrow, Weasley? I'm exhausted and I have Potions to do."

Ginny's brows knotted. "I can't do that. He'll get suspicious. Plus, that still doesn't solve the problem of Harry ending things with Malfoy."

Suddenly, Hermione got the brightest idea. A large grin covered her face.

"Let's catch Harry and Malfoy."

Pansy looked confused and then rolled her eyes.

"But… they won't be doing anything. How can we catch them if they're not doing anything. Really, _Granger_."

"Really, _Parkinson_," Hermione hissed. "It's easy to walk in on them simply talking and twist it into something else. As long as they're alone, we can make it look suspicious. Then Ginny can walk in on them-"

Pansy squirmed excitedly. "Oh! Yes! Then Weasley here can walk in on them, put on her betrayed act-"

"Um, excuse me. I _am_ sort of still betrayed," Ginny interjected harshly.

Pansy threw her a side glance and waved a dismissive hand. "She'll act betrayed and break up with Harry. Then he'll be free for matching. It _is_ rather genius, Granger."

Hermione, beaming at the praise, nodded her thanks.

"Alright," Ginny mumbled as she stood up and stretched. "Where are they, Parkinson?"

Pansy blinked. "How should I know?"

Ginny gawked at the dark haired girl for a moment. "What? You don't know? But you knew they were meeting."

"Yes, but Draco didn't tell me _where_. Just that he was."

Ginny growled again. "Great. Fucking great. As if we're going to search the entire castle. Plan failed."

"Oh, don't be such a whining bitch," Pansy sighed. "It shouldn't be too hard to find them."

Ginny snorted at the uncertainty in the other girl's voice.

"Let's try the Room of Requirement," Hermione chimed in. "I've got a good feeling they're there. Lots of_ privacy_."

The three busted into a fit of giggles before running up the stairs to the seventh floor.

They finally got to the wall and started pacing around frantically. The doors appeared and Pansy threw them open with a loud bang.

"They're not here!" She screamed into the empty room. Her voice echoed angrily off the walls.

Hermione stepped in and looked around, frowning.

Ginny threw herself onto a couch sitting near the door dramatically.

"Now what?"

"Well," Hermione said, seating herself next to Ginny. "We have to think. Where else could they be?"

* * *

Harry paced around the classroom so much, he felt like there should have been a trench in the middle of the room.

When he heard the door open from behind him, he jumped a few feet in the air and turned to face the one person he was most terrified of… at the moment, anyway.

The blond boy stared at Harry with those familiar eyes of hunger before looking him over.

"Potter," He drawled sensually. Harry felt an involuntary shudder run down his spine.

"Malfoy," Harry nodded, trying to keep his face blank although his voice wavered. Draco noticed this and smirked.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" The Slytherin wriggled his eyebrows.

"The party. What happened between the two of us." Harry bit his lip, hoping that Draco had remembered and that he wasn't opening up a can of worms.

"Yes, and what about it?" Draco asked, sounding bored but looking as hungry as ever.

"I… I just wanted to tell you it was a mistake on my part. And it won't happen again. Things just need to go back to normal," Harry blurted out in one breath.

For a moment, a look of hurt flashed across Draco's face, and Harry's heart dropped to his stomach. Then, just as it appeared, the look was replaced by a strong look – almost like determination. It was a harsh determination, though, and it caught Harry off guard. Especially when the blond started toward him and the look grew harsher.

Suddenly, Draco was nose to nose with Harry. They were so close, he could feel the other boy's hot, sweet breath on his face. His heart started to beat insanely fast and throb through his ears.

"Erm, Malfoy?" Harry squeaked. "What exactly are you doing?"

"A mistake, yeah? So you wouldn't enjoy it if I did… this?" At that last word, Draco leaned to the right of Harry and gently kissed on his neck. The Gryffindor bit his lip to hold back a moan. When the blond surfaced, Harry shook his head furiously.

"Oh? And what if I did… this?" Draco then leaned to the left of Harry and nibbled on the boy's earlobe, tugging and kissing. Harry felt himself go weak in the knees and couldn't help but whimper. He felt Draco's breath on his neck as the other boy chuckled.

"Is that a no?" The blond boy asked between sensual kisses on Harry's neck. But Harry had no answer. He felt if he were to open his mouth, he would lose all control.

Draco surfaced and looked at Harry with hungry eyes and smirked maliciously. He had a feeling his emerald eyes were betraying the desperation he felt, and Draco had definitely noticed this.

"I didn't think so," The boy drawled before pushing Harry against a desk and placing a passionate kiss on his lips.

Harry returned the kiss intensely, paying no mind to the nagging voice in his mind that was reproaching him for this behavior. So what if he had wanted to meet with Draco to keep this from happening again? What had he been thinking? This was too amazing to give up.

Draco broke away, smirking playfully as he paid more attention to the other boy's neck, leaving small passion marks all over. Harry moaned softly, rolling his head back and savoring every small kiss and bite Draco laid upon him.

Harry knew he should stop. He should push Draco off and leave the room. But he couldn't. Not only did he not _want_ to leave this, but he didn't think he had the strength to. If he couldn't find the strength to break if off now, could he find the strength to break it off later? That thought terrified him the most.

His thoughts were cut short by a pair of cold, pale hands now unbuttoning his shirt and gently feeling around his chest. Harry snapped his head back to Draco and impulse took over. With shaking hands, he reached over and unbuttoned Draco's shirt. Draco shrugged it off quickly and pulled Harry into another deep kiss.

The two boys kissed each other for a while, feeling each others bodies… caressing every muscle, and every curve.

Harry pulled away and smiled at how swollen and red Draco's lips were, knowing his were just as bad. Draco returned the smile and kissed him sweetly, while undoing the top button of his pants. As the pale hand unzipped the pants slowly, it brushed against Harry's throbbing erection. The touch was accidental, but Harry let out a small moan and tried to lean into Draco's touch more.

The blond looked at Harry with surprised, yet fascinated, eyes. He licked his lips and grabbed Harry's cock. Harry let out a small squeak that quickly turned into a moan as Draco pumped his hand slowly.

Before he knew it, Harry was reaching with one hand to pull the other boy closer, and reaching the other hand to undo Draco's trousers as well.

Pumping fists, caressing hands, and shallow breaths quickened as pleasure took over their entire bodies. Harry could feel the pressure in his groin building up. Draco opened his eyes, looking up at Harry through his eyelashes. With this look, Harry felt his heart jump up into his throat. He leaned his head against Draco's and moaned the boy's name loudly as he came. A few moments later, Draco pulled Harry into a deep kiss as he came.

The two boys stood there, absolutely naked, for what had to be ten minutes – simply kissing. They alternated between soft, sweet kisses and fiery, hard ones. Finally, Harry pulled away, needing to breathe. Draco casted a quick cleaning charm and got dressed, smirking at Harry the entire time. Harry followed these motions, but kept his eyes to the ground. He felt his face heating up due to Draco's gaze and he couldn't find the courage to make eye contact.

Draco walked up to Harry and pulled his chin up gently. His ice grey eyes bored into Harry's, causing Harry's breath to hitch a bit. Then, the blond slowly leaned in and gave him a long, sweet kiss.

They had been kissing all night, but this kiss was different to Harry. It made his heart flutter, his balance waver, and his head spin. It took all of his remaining strength not to completely swoon.

Draco pulled away slowly, lingering right at Harry's lips. Then, the boy stepped away, smirking still, and walked out of the classroom door.

Harry gently touched his lips, still feeling the kiss and its effects. He suddenly missed the blond boy. He desperately wanted more Draco Malfoy. And he knew at that moment he had just made a terrible mistake.

He was hooked.

He was starting to realize his original plan had just completely fallen to pieces.

He was in deep shit.

* * *

The three girls had wandered all over the castle, looking for any possible sign of Harry or Draco. It was well past nine, and they were about to give up.

"There's no way they're still meeting," Pansy groaned. "Let's just go to sleep."

"I still feel like we're missing something," Ginny frowned. "We still need to check a few more places, I think."

The three fell silent as they thought.

"Hmm," Hermione mumbled. "What about that abandoned classroom from the party? We haven't checked there."

"It's a possibility," Pansy shrugged.

The three girls made their way downstairs to the classroom near the Great Hall. The area was very dark, and the three of them jumped when they heard footsteps coming from near the classroom.

"Did you hear that?" Ginny whispered. "I think there's something there."

"I'm sure it's just a ghost, perhaps a House Elf," Hermione concluded, her voice faltering a bit.

The three crept slowly to the classroom, holding their breath. They heard quick footsteps running away from them and let out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

"Whatever it was... it's gone," Pansy opened the classroom door and lit up the room with her wand.

It was completely empty.

"Bollocks!" Pansy yelled. "This is utter shit, that's what this is!"

Hermione frowned. "We'll just have to figure something else out tomorrow. Let's all try and think of a new plan tonight and meet up in the morning."

The three girls walked off to their respective common rooms, completely disappointed but eagerly anticipating a new plan. Hopefully, this one would work.


	12. Stuck in Ruts and Trunks

Ack. I'm so sorry it's been so long! My computer's battery went out so I had to wait for Dell to send me a new one. Which of course took forever. Bastards. Anyway, as soon as I got it in, I had to write this chapter super quickly before the idea escaped! Thanks to all your lovely reviews and the like. I hope you all enjoy! :3

Quick Disclaimer: NOTHING.

* * *

Harry was in a complete daze the next day. He tried to keep up with the speed of the thoughts in his mind, but they were too quick to him.

Sometimes, he truly believed he was falling for Draco. Especially when it came to those small moments… a smile across the Great Hall, a nudge in the hallway, an embrace in the Potions storage cabinet when they were the only two there. Those were the moments that made him happiest. Not that the quick snogs in the dark corners of the corridors in between classes didn't make him happy. But it was the moments when Draco was tender that Harry loved the most.

But something felt… wrong. Strange, even. Harry wasn't sure what it was, but it definitely bothered him.

Sometimes, he attributed it to the fact that- maybe- he wasn't _really_ attracted to Draco at all. Maybe he was just extremely frustrated sexually (especially since he had never really done anything before) and Draco was the outlet because he was there and he seemed like he cared.

Whatever it was… it confused the hell out of Harry. But he went along with it anyway, enjoying everything as it came and went.

It was difficult keeping it a secret a first. Harry couldn't help but feel completely paranoid. It was like no matter where he went, fellow students, hell – even teachers, were looking upon him with eyes of judgment. It felt like… they _knew_. But, really, they couldn't know… because it was a complete secret.

That's what Harry hated most of all. The _secrecy. _And not because he wanted it to be public – Merlin, no! The thought of everyone knowing about he and Draco… it made him nauseated. The press would have a heydey with it. And he didn't even want to think about what Ron and Hermione would do. Especially Ron.

He _definitely_ couldn't tell them… but they were his best friends. They never kept anything from each other, really. And yet Harry was hiding this gigantic secret from them… Which also contributed to the whole situation feeling 'wrong'.

Although he knew it was wrong – all of it – he couldn't quite get away.

For some reason that was out of his mind's reach, he was completely drawn to the blond. There was something about him… more than just being attractive – because Harry definitely couldn't deny that.

Harry found Draco incredibly sexy. Just the way Draco would glance at him through his almost white lashes sent a chill down Harry's spine right to his crotch.

Ahem. Anyway.

Keeping it a secret from Ron and Hermione was the most difficult part of the affair.

Every night after dinner, he would feel their eyes on him, staring him down as he walked to that infamous dark classroom. He would feel embarrassed… sometimes even shame. But those feelings immediately disappeared the moment he felt cold, pale hands brush against his skin. And it was those almost frosty fingertips that kept him coming back for more.

* * *

Every night after dinner, Harry would excuse himself from the table and practically skip out of the Great Hall. Ron, of course, paid no mind to the raven haired boy's strange behavior. Hermione and Ginny, however, would always share an excited glance – their lips itching to curl up into huge grins.

Hermione just had a huge hunch that Harry was skipping off to meet up with one Draco Malfoy, and it practically made her giddy with excitement. And she knew her fellow matchmakers felt the same way.

The only thing that tended to diminish her excitement was that the affair had been going on for quite some time and it seemed like they were never going to tell anyone. If Harry was meeting up with Draco, why was he still keeping it a secret?

It was the question that, quite literally, kept the girls up all night.

"I'm very tired," Pansy whispered harshly. "Can't we discuss this some other time?"

It had to be past three in the morning, possibly even close to four, and she was getting cranky.

Hermione threw her a cross look. "I'm tired as well, Parkinson. But this needs to be discussed now. Christmas break is coming up soon… we've been working on this for almost a month now and we've gotten absolutely nowhere."

Pansy mumbled a few complaints before crossing her arms and sighing in defeat.

The brunette grinned in victory before turning her attention back to their problems at hand.

"Alright, so we're all fairly certain that Harry and Malfoy are, in fact, meeting with each other," Hermione began. The other two girls nodded.

"They're being so secretive about it… almost as if they're not together in any way at all. It makes no sense," Ginny looked at Pansy with a thoughtful look. "Has Malfoy said anything about Harry to you?"

Pansy shook her head furiously. "Not a word. Ever since their meeting a month or so ago, anything having to do with Potter has been completely dropped from Draco's vocabulary."

The red head sighed in frustration. "Okay, so they're being secretive. That much is obvious. But why?"

"Maybe because they're enemies? Enemy houses, enemy families…" Pansy scoffed.

"That didn't stop them from becoming _friends_," Hermione said pointedly.

"Okay then, what about the fact that Draco just renounced his homosexuality?" The black haired girl tried again.

Ginny contemplated this for a moment but Hermione shook her head.

"That doesn't make sense either, especially since he basically told you he didn't give a damn what his father thought of his sexual orientation."

"Well," Pansy slowly began. "It seems like Potter is the culprit behind the secrecy problem. But that comes with another question of why…"

Hermione solemnly nodded. "One step forward, two steps back."

The three were silent for a long moment until the red headed girl inhaled sharply, as though just remembering something important. She then broke the stiff silence completely when she groaned loudly.

"What is it, Weasley?" Pansy snapped.

"I… I think I know a reason why Harry may be wanting to hide his relationship with Malfoy,"

Hermione looked up immediately and raised an eyebrow. Pansy squinted her eyes in what was almost a glare.

"I'm really sorry, and I totally forgot-"

"Just spit it out, Weasley!"

Ginny swallowed hard, preparing herself for the murderous glances she was bound to receive.

"I haven't broken it off with Harry, yet."

* * *

Harry should have been sleeping. Or at least pretending, as that's what he told everyone down in the Common Room on why he had raced up to his room after dinner.

He knew from experience that his fellow classmates always stayed up late in the Common Room on Saturday nights, and although it was extremely uncharacteristic of him, he decided that would be the best chance to sneak Draco into his room (via his Invisibility Cloak of course) without anyone interrupting them.

However, he couldn't sleep. Or even pretend. His stomach was in knots he was so nervous. Nervous about the night ahead of him, nervous about someone walking in on them. Nervous about everything, really.

So he paced. He paced quite a bit.

When the door opened, he couldn't help but jump a bit, even though his body had been anticipating the blond's arrival for a good thirty minutes.

He spun around and faced Draco just as he slipped the Invisibility Cloak off with a devilish grin on his face. Harry's breath caught in his throat.

The Slytherin looked around slowly to make sure the room was clear before setting his sights back on Harry.

"Draco-"

"Hush, Harry. Do you want people to know we're up here?" He wriggled his right eyebrow, as though it were a challenge. A challenge Harry definitely didn't feel comfortable taking up.

"Of course not."

Draco's face fell a little before he turned around and mumbled a locking charm on the dormitory door.

The blond made his way over to Harry and stood nose to nose with him, completely motionless. His grey eyes peered into Harry's in such a way that sent what felt like a current of electricity down his arms.

Harry immediately went to close the small gap between them and pressed his lips on Draco. It was somewhat awkward, despite the many times such a kiss has happened before. Harry likened it to his nerves causing him to feel completely on edge. But he couldn't help that now. Not now that Draco was in his room. Alone. With the door locked. Alone. Kissing him.

He must have tensed up because he felt Draco's breath on his lips as he chuckled.

The blond pulled away slowly, once again looking the dark haired boy with that hungry look in his eyes that Harry knew all too well.

Draco bent his head down and kissed Harry's neck softly.

"Relax," He whispered with a bit of force, the hot breath tickling Harry's ear and sending chills down his spine.

All he could do was nod as Draco slowly pulled his shirt off before going to pull of his own. Harry's mouth went dry at the sight.

Suddenly, Draco pulled Harry into an embrace, pressing his lips softly onto Harry's.

Harry wrapped his arms around the other boy and returned the kiss passionately, pulling Draco even closer. The other boy gasped a bit as their skin touched.

Draco's cold hands ran down Harry's back slowly and gently cupped his arse. The slight touch made Harry moan out loud and he felt Draco's victorious smile on his lips.

Harry felt Draco's hand move from his behind to his front, pausing to stroke his very obvious erection. Harry moaned again as he reached to return the favor.

Draco quickly broke away.

"Did you hear something?"

Harry shook his head hesitantly. He honestly hadn't been paying much attention.

Draco shrugged and continued to softly brush his fingers against Harry's cock. Harry did the same, their breaths becoming ragged. Draco stopped to tug at the waistband of the other boy's pajama bottoms with a look that Harry could only describe as wicked. He nodded nervously, giving the blond the okay. Draco licked his lips and started to pull the bottoms down when Harry heard something in the hall outside the dormitory door, and held the other boy's hand still.

"Did you hear that?"

Draco rolled his eyes and continued to pull the bottoms all the way to Harry's ankles. "Really, Harry. Don't be so bloody paranoid,"

There was a loud knock at the door. Harry's heart went up into his throat and his stomach dropped. He noticed Draco's cool façade slip for a moment as well as his face went much paler than usual.

"Ignore it," Draco whispered before kissing the raven haired boy's neck.

"He's never locked the door before," Harry heard a familiar voice say. "Harry? Harry, are you in there?"

"Shit! It's Ron!" Harry whispered in complete panic.

"Harry… I'm a wizard you know," Ron's voice said pointedly from behind the door. "I can unlock this. I'm going to count to ten in case you're… erm… busy? And then I'm letting myself in. Ten… Nine…"

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Harry flounced around frantically and rather pathetically. Draco raised an eyebrow at the scene in front of him.

Harry looked around at his options of hiding the blond. His eyes settled upon his school trunk. It was magicked to hold his broom… surely it could hold Draco.

"Eight… Seven…"

Draco followed Harry's eyeline and immediately started to back away. "Hell no. I'm _not_ getting in that."

"Get in the trunk, Draco, please!"

"Six… Five…"

Harry grabbed Draco's elbow and dragged him to the trunk, while the blond kicked and screamed like a toddler.

"Let go of me this instant, I say! This has to be some sort of sick joke!"

"It's just for a bit, Draco," Harry pleaded.

"Four… Um… Four and a half…"

Draco glared at Harry with his arms crossed, clearly defiant of the idea.

"Three… Two…" The two boys looked toward the door as they heard what sounded like a wand being tapped to the door.

Harry, with panic and adrenaline running through his veins, manhandled Draco and stuffed him in the trunk.

"WHAT THE FU-"

Harry slammed the trunk lid closed and murmured a locking spell just as he heard Ron opening the door.

"Um… Harry? Why are your pants down?"

Harry looked down at his feet to see his pajamas bottoms still pooled there. Blushing deeply, he yanked them up and chortled a sad sort of excuse. Ron gave him a strange look before going to sit down on his own bed across from Harry's.

"Harry, I need to talk to you about Hermione," Ron began. Harry nodded for him to continue. "It's just since that party a few months ago, where we… you know… _snogged_… she's been acting a bit different around me."

"Different how?"

"Like almost upset with me… But I don't know what I did wrong."

The trunk bounced around a bit, and Harry kicked it threateningly. Ron threw Harry another strange look before simply shaking his head.

"Well, perhaps she kissed that night because she was interested in you," Harry explained, trying to remembering how Draco would speak of Ron and Hermione when he was their matchmaker. "And she thought you kissed back you were interested as well-"

"But I am interested!"

"You're not acting like it! You can't just snog someone senseless and then treat them the same before the snog. Things are different between the two of you now… She probably thinks you snogged her because you were drunk."

"But I was drunk!"

"That's beside the point! Are you interested in Hermione or not?"

"Yeah..."

"Do you want to date her?"

"Well… yeah."

The trunk moved again, and this time Harry swore he heard a few muffled curse words. He decided it'd be best to ignore the trunk this time as not to draw any more attention to it.

"Go fix it then… because I promise that's not her impression. Go make Hermione yours, Ron!" Harry was always rather gifted at motivational speeches, and he beamed at the determined look now on his best mate's face.

"Yeah!" Ron jumped off of his bed and made his way to the door. Harry turned around to open the trunk when Ron cleared his throat. Harry whirled around to face the frozen redhead.

"Yes, Ron?"

"Erm… What do I say exactly?"

Harry chuckled at this. He really had no idea. He was shit with relationship advice and he found it ironic he was having to give it now. What would Draco the matchmaker say…

He honestly had no idea.

His mind went back to what he would want in Ron's position. What would he _want_ someone interested in him to say?...

What would he want Draco to say?

"Harry?"

He snapped out of his thoughts and smiled.

"Just… tell Hermione how you really feel about her. Everything you like about her. No matter how disgustingly corny it is. That's all anyone wants to hear."

Ron nodded with a big grin. "Right!"

The door slammed shut and Harry stood there smiling for a moment.

The trunk started to move around almost viciously.

"Oh, shit," Harry dove for the trunk and threw the lid open. He reached in and helped out a very pissed off looking Draco Malfoy.

"Draco, I'm so sor-"

"Do you even REALIZE how cramped it is in there? My legs are completely asleep, you git! And I'm pretty sure I tore my rotator cuff in my right shoulder."

Harry winced at the harshness in Draco's voice.

"Draco, I'm really sorry, I am. I panicked!"

"Really! I couldn't tell that much at all," The blond mockingly scoffed as he reached for his shirt and pulled it back on.

"Draco, please don't go," Harry pleaded, feeling quite stupid for begging.

Draco looked at him as though contemplating the idea of staying for a few moments, and then just sighed.

"I'm actually quite tired, Harry," The blond explained as he reached down to grab Harry's Invisibility Cloak. "And, I'm sure you wouldn't know this, but being stuffed into a trunk actually does nothing to improve _the mood_."

Harry played with the string on his pajama bottoms before looking back up at Draco, who was smiling playfully at him. Harry smiled a small smile back.

Draco walked up to Harry and kissed him sweetly before planting a peck on Harry's nose.

"Maybe again, sometime soon?"

Harry nodded slowly as Draco gave him a quick wink and whipped the Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders.

He waited until the door was completely shut before he threw himself onto the bed and sighed heavily. He groaned when he realized the light was still on and whispered '_Nox_' and slipped underneath the cold covers. Feeling the empty spot next to him, Harry couldn't help but feel a bit empty himself. Draco should have been next to him, but he had completely screwed that up.

Sighing dramatically again as he tossed to his other side, he slowly drifted off to sleep, feeling completely disappointed.


	13. Confusion and Denial At Its Finest

Hello everyone! Sorry I took such a long time to update, I got carried away with a show. No worries though, it's closed its run now so I have more time to write! I just wanted to say thanks for all the amazing reviews, favorites, etc. etc. You're all too kind! :) There are only a few more planned chapters of this story left! Eek.

Before I leave you to read the chapter, I must ask something of my dear readers... One chapter I am planning, I would like to insert a sex scene. Of course, I don't want to do this if it makes anyone uncomfortable or unhappy at all... so if you review this (or you could message me), please- I'd love your opinion... would you like to read a sex scene between our two lovers, or no? I'll go with the majority! :)

Enjoy!

* * *

Harry spent his Sunday like any other Sunday – lazy. He sat on his bed, occasionally writing some of his History of Magic essay, but mainly just thinking.

Christmas holidays started next weekend and he was thinking about the weeks he would spend without Draco. And all the weeks he would be spending with Ginny. He groaned at this realization. This last weekend of school could definitely take its time.

After what felt like hours, Harry threw down his quill and parchment and decided it was time to get some lunch. Just as he rolled off his bed and stretched, Ron came running into the room, absolutely beaming.

"I haven't told you the news yet!"

"And what's that?"

"I told Hermione everything you told me to tell her and then I asked her to go to Hogsmeade with me today and she said yes! She actually said _yes_!" Ron announced in one breath.

"I told you she liked you, Ron," Harry laughed. "When are you two leaving?"

"Right after lunch. I just had to come up and tell you. I'm a bit excited," The red head scratched his head in embarrassment.

Harry couldn't help but grin at the boy in front of him. Whatever Pansy and Draco had done, it had worked. Whatever hard work they had put into that party, it had been a complete success. His two best friends, who he believed perfect for each other, were finally together. He couldn't wait to tell Draco and Pansy the good news.

Harry and Ron ran down the stairs, both eager to eat lunch, but for very different reasons. Ron was obviously excited about spending the day alone with Hermione. Harry, however, couldn't wait for the new pair to leave. This meant an entire day with Draco and absolutely no interruptions from anyone.

"Hey, Harry?" He heard a small voice say behind him.

Harry automatically froze. _Fuck shit bloody hell… Ginny._

He turned around slowly to face the redhead, a fake smile plastered on his face.

"Hey… Gin," He answered unenthusiastically.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" She nudged her head to the corner of the Common Room. Harry said a quick bye to Ron and followed Ginny nervously.

"What's up?" Harry asked awkwardly, trying to keep calm, but paranoia quickly set in.

She didn't know did she? How could she know? There's no way she could know… right?

Ginny bit her lip and looked at him with huge, tearful eyes. He could tell that whatever she was about to say was eating her up inside. He gently laid a hand on her shoulder; she winced at his touch before inching away so his hand fell limply back to his side.

"Harry, I can't do this anymore," Her voice wavered as she looked towards the fire.

Harry's heart leapt at the words, but suddenly came crashing down with reality. She knew. She had to know. Which meant… everyone else had to know as well.

He immediately went into panic mode.

"What? Why? What happened?" He whispered frantically.

She gave him a strange look before answering.

"I'm not stupid, Harry. I can see it all."

His heart pounded in his chest, and he was pretty sure his stomach was about to drop out of his body.

"See? See what?" He asked, his voice a bit high pitched.

She shook her head.

"You know as well as I do that you don't care for _me_ anymore. You haven't for awhile."

Harry just stood there awkwardly for a moment, wondering where all of this had come from, and what he was supposed to do next. She stared at him with hurt eyes before smiling softly and pulling him into a hug. He wrapped his arms around her slowly, still staring blankly at the wall behind him, not even looking away when she let go and walked off and out of the Common Room.

* * *

Ginny waited until she was out of Harry's line of vision before she allowed herself a victory dance. She sprinted to the portrait hole and pushed it open to find Hermione and Pansy waiting anxiously.

"Well?"

"How did it go?"

Ginny grinned broadly and cleared her throat.

"I… am now a single woman," She flourished her hand grandly.

Hermione clapped her hands together while Pansy smirked. Ginny remained smiling as she turned her attention to the dark haired girl.

"What?"

"Well… what's next?"

"… What are you talking about?"

"I've done my part of your plan-"

"It sure as hell took you long enough," Pansy scoffed.

Ginny glared at her. "That's irrelevant. Either way, it's done. Now, where do we go from here?"

"Oh… erm…" Pansy looked taken aback, as if she hadn't exactly thought this much through.

"You don't even know! You haven't even-"

"Shut it! I've got this!"

"Oh, please. You haven't even thought about this! Oh, I know! You didn't think I could-"

"I do believe I said to SHUT UP, Weasel!"

"HOW ABOUT BOTH OF YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTHS!"

This sudden outburst from Hermione quieted both girls in an instant.

"Let's all calm down so we can think of the next part of our plan. We don't have much time."

"Hermione's right… as usual," Ginny sighed.

Pansy looked crossly at the floor, deep in thought. Ginny clicked her tongue as thoughts ran through her mind, and Hermione rocked back and forth.

Suddenly the dark haired girl's head snapped up, and a broad, evil grin spread across her face. Hermione was the first to notice and immediately stood still. The look on the Slytherin's face made her a bit nervous.

"Pansy?"

Pansy's eyes were alight with mischief as she strutted to the two other girls and motioned for them to move closer.

Ginny rolled her eyes and she stepped into the two brunettes. "What's your big plan now, Parkinson?"

"To party."

"Pardon?"

"Really, Granger. The concept is quite simple. We throw a party this weekend… let's call it a Holiday Bash, if you will. An abundance of alcohol, dancing, schmoozing… Much the same setting as last time, and I think we all know how well that ended up."

"It sounds like it might actually work, Pansy," The red head nodded.

"Of course it will work. Don't you dare doubt a match maker. Besides, everyone knows that parties are the staple of bringing people together."

"Is that so?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

Pansy merely smiled and started to walk off.

"Tonight after dinner, ladies. Library. We'll plan our Holiday Party."

* * *

Word about Pansy's "Yule Party" spread around Hogwarts quickly, and when Harry heard about it, he was torn between feeling excited and worried.

But mostly, he was worried.

He had been avoiding Draco all week. After his strange experience with Ginny on Sunday, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that everyone had caught on to their strange relationship… or whatever it was they had.

He knew just ignoring Draco like he had been had pissed the blond off. He saw the smile on the boy's face when he walked into potions, and he saw when it was wiped clean off when Harry chose the seat next to Neville. And he saw the glares and scowls that were etched on the Slytherin's face for the entire rest of the week.

But he also knew that going near Draco right now and proving to Ginny (and everyone else who probably knew) that the suspicions were correct? Bad idea. Really bad idea.

He was attracted to Draco, this much he knew. But he wasn't sure if it was just… Draco. Or if he just liked men, in general. Which he wasn't sure was entirely was true. He was definitely attracted to girls. Ginny, Cho. Hell, even he found Hermione attractive at times, which he definitely attributed to his hormones. So what was it about Draco?

The entire thing just confused him, and he thought that perhaps by staying away from Draco this week it would sort itself all out.

He was wrong.

It was now Friday night, it had been an entire week, and Harry was feeling more confused than ever.

And the party was definitely going to make it worse.

He had been trying all week to get out of it, and he had to try once more at dinner. It was his last chance.

"Hermione, do I really need to go to this party? I've really got a lot of packing to do before we leave for the Burrow tomorrow morn-"

"Harry James Potter, you are going to the party with Ron and I and that's the last I will hear of it."

Harry sighed in defeat and frustration as Ron gave him a sympathetic smile over his pumpkin juice.

"Well, Ginny and I are going to go get ready for the party," Hermione nudged the red head next to her and stood up to leave the table. "We'll see you boys in an hour or so."

The two girls talked in excited, hushed whispers as they hurried their way out of the Great Hall.

"Wonder what's up with those two? A bit too excited for some bloody party, if you ask me," Ron said with a mouthful of fig pudding. Harry simply shoved a cherry pastry in his mouth when his eyes came into contact with a pair of very fierce grey eyes.

Harry choked a bit on the tart and just sat there, staring back at the blond.

Draco raised his eyebrow sensually as he looked Harry up and down, smirking. The passion in his eyes caused Harry's head to swim and his heart started to thump wildly.

Suddenly, his smirk turned into a snarl, and then Draco was hurriedly leaving the Great Hall, leaving the raven haired in a state of sexually frustrated shock.

Harry groaned, taking another bite of his dessert.

Tonight was definitely going to be a sort of sick, sweet hell.


	14. Acceptance and Downfall

What's this? An update? So soon? Why, yes! It's true. I told you I had lots of extra time now! This chapter is quite a bit longer than previous ones but... oh well. I had LOADS of fun writing this chapter. Hopefully you all enjoy it, too! :) Also, thank you so much for the lovely reviews. Keep 'em coming!

Quick Disclaimer: All I own is the plot! Everything else belongs to my goddess, JKR.

* * *

Harry walked slowly behind Ginny, Hermione, and Ron to the party. He felt Ron glancing back at him every so often, but he didn't care how sulky he looked. He really didn't feel like facing Draco tonight.

They walked into the Slytherin Common Room and saw that it had been transformed into dance floor, much like the last party he attended. The lights were very low, making it difficult to see. Music blasted through the room, vibrations coursing through Harry's body. Ron and Hermione ran to the dance floor, while Ginny walked over to Pansy, leaving Harry alone in front of the entrance.

He scanned the room, looking for a familiar face. He saw many out on the dance floor- Neville, Seamus, Dean, Lavender, and Parvati just to name a few- but he didn't feel comfortable enough to walk over there and speak with them. That's when a glimmer of white caught his attention.

Draco Malfoy was standing by the punch bowl, sipping casually on his drink, looking altogether bored. Harry couldn't help but notice how delicious he looked in his skinny black pants and powder blue shirt.

Something about the blond drew Harry in, and despite being so against seeing Draco tonight, Harry felt himself walking over to the punch table.

"Hullo, Draco,"

Draco raised an eyebrow and gazed at Harry from above his glass.

"Well, well. Finally decided to speak to me now, huh?"

Harry winced. He was obviously agitated about being ignored.

"I'm really sorry about this week. Things have been… well, things have been weird."

"As interesting as that sounds, _Potter_, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this little meeting short. I'm off to bed, as you have just destroyed the tiny part in me that might have desired socializing tonight."

Draco set his cup down and quickly ran up the stairs, disappearing into his room.

Harry scowled as he filled a cup of his own. He was definitely going to need it tonight. It was already off to a shitty start.

* * *

A few cups later, Harry was in the center of the dance floor, with his classmates cheering him on wildly. He wasn't sure what type of dance he was doing, but he was having a drunken blast.

Ron ran up to him and slapped him on the back. He was laughing so hard, his eyes were tearing up. Hermione was right next to him, a giant grin on her face. He smiled back.

"Hey, where's Malfoy?" Hermione suddenly asked.

"Fuck Malfoy."

Ron looked at Harry and chuckled.

"I'll drink to that."

"Harry," Hermione stared at him, shocked. "What did you say?"

That was the question that changed everything. Harry looked up and took a deep breath. And it just started to pour out. In one breath. He couldn't help himself, really.

"I said fuck Malfoy. Fuck his superiority complex. His stupid father. His ties with Voldemort. His idea that he can just push me around. Fuck his beautiful platinum hair. His pink lips. His nose that does that cute thing when he sneers. Fuck the way he looks at me through his eyelashes. Fuck the way he quirks his eyebrow when he thinks he's being a smartass. And his laugh. His quick comments. Fuck his sense of humor, period. Fuck the way his face dimples when he smiles at me. Fuck the feeling I get when he looks at me, when he touches me. And the feeling I get when he kisses me. And fuck the fact that he can treat me this way and I still love him."

Harry gasped as his speech registered with his brain. Ron dropped his drink, eyes wide with horror. Hermione's face was alight with shock and glee.

"I… erm… excuse me," Harry nodded to his friends and left them frozen in the middle of the dance floor. There was only one place he wanted to be at that moment.

He ran up the stairs as fast as he could, tripping over the occasional drink or couple engrossed in each other's faces. He clumsily burst through the door and found Draco sitting in his bed, reading a book.

"Malfoy!"

Draco jerked his head up and sneered when he saw Harry standing at the door.

"What do you want? What the… Are you drunk? For the love of Merlin I think I can smell the liquor on you from way over here. Hey! No! Keep your drunken ass away from me. Do not come any clos-"

Harry cut Draco off with a lip crushing kiss. He wrapped his arms around the blond's neck and nibbled his bottom lip, tongue licking softly for entrance. Draco moaned as Harry's tongue explored his mouth.

Draco ran his hands gently through Harry's hair, sending shivers down his back. He broke the kiss, panting slightly, and crawled over the blond. Draco threw his book across the room and reached up to touch the other boy's face. Harry smiled and kiss the palm of Draco's hand, and slowly kissed his way up his arm to his pale neck.

Harry nibbled, leaving a small purple passion mark. Draco gasped and reached to pull Harry's sweater over his head. Harry returned the gesture as he hurriedly unbuttoned Draco's sleep shirt.

Harry was then pulled down onto Draco, moaning as their warm skin touched. The blond slowly ran his hands down Harry's back, fingernails barely grazing the skin. It drove Harry to the edge.

He pulled Draco's pajama pants off as quickly as he could.

"What's this? You go commando?"

"Oh sod off, Potter. Oh god," Draco moaned as Harry kissed his way up the inside of his thigh. When Harry reached Draco's hard cock, he raised his head, taking in the blond's body. He was very fit, from years of Quidditch play, no doubt. Or good genes. Either way, Harry could not stop staring at the beautiful, pale skin.

It was all his. His for the taking.

He couldn't take it anymore. He wanted Draco. And he wanted him now.

"I could eat you up," He grinned wolfishly as Draco swallowed hard at these words.

He gently kissed down the shaft, smirking as the blond grinded his hips wildly.

Harry placed his lips around the tip of Draco's cock, and slowly sucked his way down the hard length. As he took the blond into his mouth, he started to think.

Usually, Draco was the one pursuing Harry, kissing him, touching him, while Harry just took the advances. Now, the tables had turned. And Harry quite liked it. He really enjoyed pleasuring Draco. He loved to see the blond squirm. He loved knowing he was the one making the boy pant and moan, making his cheeks turn a bright pink, making him sweat and beg for more. He loved knowing Draco was his.

"H-Harry…"

Harry stopped immediately, knowing Draco was close to climaxing. And he refused to let that happen right now, for they had a whole night ahead of them.

He kissed his way up Draco's pale chest, pausing to nibble gently on his small, pink nipples. The blond was practically gasping for air.

When Harry reached Draco's face, he couldn't help but just stare into those grey eyes that were dark with want. The look in them made Harry's knees go weak.

"Draco," Harry heard himself whisper, as he traced his finger along the blond's jawline.

Draco smiled softly before bringing Harry down to him for a passionate kiss.

It was unlike any kiss they had shared previously. Yes, the lust was still there. But there was something more. Harry could feel need, and want. A bit of hesitation. And, dare he say it, love?

None of that mattered, however, when Draco broke the kiss and looked at Harry with a strange look in his eyes.

"I want you," He whispered roughly, obviously struggling to find his voice after the kiss.

Harry could only answer with another lip bruising kiss.

Draco reached into the night stand next to him and grabbed a large tube.

"What is that?"

"Um… Lubricant?" Draco deeply blushed as he said this.

Harry cleared his throat, blushing as well.

"What… What do I do with that?" Draco scoffed.

"Well, it's quite simple, really. You put the lube generously onto your fingers and then put your fingers in my arse to stretch me for your co-"

"Okay, okay. I think I got the idea."

Draco smirked at how uncomfortable Harry acted as he pour the clear liquid onto his pointer and middle fingers.

"Scared, Potter?"

"You wish," Harry growled, as he stuck a finger into Draco, causing the blond to squeeze his face up tightly. Harry could only guess as to how uncomfortable it was, so he quickly added his second finger when suddenly he brushed up against something that made the blond moan loudly.

"Holy hell," Draco panted. "Do that again."

Harry wasn't sure what he had done in the first place to warrant such a reaction, but he tried anyway. Apparently, he succeeded in doing so because Draco practically howled his name.

The noise went straight to Harry's already aching hard cock, and he prepared himself to enter Draco.

Draco wrapped his legs around Harry and nodded, mumbling something about starting off slowly.

Harry slowly pushed himself in, watching Draco's face for any hint of relaxation before pushing himself in further. The tightness made Harry itch to move, but he waited until Draco smiled and nodded before he pulled back and thrust back in.

The sensation was truly amazing. Nothing could have prepared him for this, and he was glad for it, too. He was glad he was experiencing this with no expectations in mind, and he was certainly glad he was sharing it with Draco Malfoy.

The blond gasped something about 'harder', and Harry couldn't deny him. He grabbed Draco's leg and placed it over his shoulder. Draco pulled on Harry's hips to bring him closer as he grabbed his own hard cock and started stroking it furiously. Harry's head rolled back from the waves of pleasure going through his body from the new position. And Draco touching himself was quite the beautiful sight, motivating Harry to push even deeper.

Before he knew it, Harry was moaning Draco's name quite loudly, and Draco was doing the same with Harry's name.

Harry had never loved his name so much until now. The way Draco's pink lips parted when he said it, the way he gasped a bit before pronouncing the 'H' sound, the way he would lick his lips before moaning his name again. It drove Harry to his breaking point, and he cried out as ecstasy claimed his body.

Draco reached his climax nearly right after Harry, coming all over Harry's chest as he moaned the Gryffindor's name over and over again.

The blond, smiling, grabbed his wand from the same night stand and muttered a quick cleaning spell for Harry's stomach. Harry gently pulled out and collapsed next to Draco. They were both panting extremely hard, trying to catch their breath. Harry was so exhausted he had trouble keeping his eyes open.

Suddenly, Harry felt Draco's strong arms wrap around his shoulders and pull him towards the blond. Harry smiled as he adjusted himself into a more comfortable position. His face placed on Draco's shoulder and his arm wrapped around the boy's smooth stomach, Harry started to drift into slumber as his heart rate slowed down to a more normal pace.

Just before losing complete consciousness, Harry couldn't help himself.

"I love you."

There was a beat of silence before he felt a light kiss being placed upon his lips.

"I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled sleepily before everything went black.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning just as the sun was rising. The first thing he noticed was how badly his head hurt. The next thing he noticed is that he was sleeping next to Draco. And he was naked. They both were naked.

Head spinning, he slowly put two and two together. And as he looked back on the events from the previous night, he grinned for a bit. And then his stomach dropped a little. He wasn't sure why… _He_ felt extremely happy, and yet, the whole situation felt strange.

Something stirred next to him and he glanced over to see Draco looking up at him with one eye barely squinting open.

"Morning," The blond rasped as he propped himself up on his elbows so he was a level higher than Harry.

"Good morning," Harry couldn't help but smile.

Draco gently kissed Harry's forehead and chuckled.

"That was amazing. I guess I can forgive you for being such a wanker this week."

"Hmm. Too bad you're always a wanker," Harry snickered, smiling into Draco's neck.

"Yes, well, I can't be a wanker anymore now that I'm with the Golden Boy."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't look too good, now would it? Tosser, Death Eater's son with the Chosen One? I obviously have to become a changed man," Draco explained with a wink.

Harry lifted his head slightly.

"Wouldn't look good? To who? Why should it matter?"

Draco looked into Harry's eyes for a moment as he registered the question.

"Oh, I get it. It shouldn't matter because no one should know, yeah?"

Harry laid his head back down and sighed.

"I'm not sure, Draco. I just don't know-"

"Don't know fucking what, exactly?" Draco sat up quickly. "We just had sex, Harry. We've been sneaking off and snogging for the past month. What exactly are you not sure about here?"

"Draco, it's not that I'm not sure about you. I am. I'm just not sure-"

"Let me guess, your sexuality?"

"Well-"

"Damnit, Harry," Draco rolled out of the bed and grabbed his pants. "Why do you have to put a label on this? Can't you accept it for what it is, and be happy? With me?"

Harry stared into Draco eyes, thinking about this question. Part of him wanted to say, '_Fuck it. You're right'_… but part of him wasn't so sure about what he was getting himself into.

"Draco, what about your father? Your reputation? We would have to think this through first before we do anything else."

"If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times! I don't fucking care what my father thinks about this. I'm not him nor will I ever be him. Let him just add one more detail on the list on why I'm such a huge disappointment. Why are you making excuses? Do you not want this?"

Harry fell silent. Of course he wanted Draco. Didn't he? He was more confused than ever, and he felt like he couldn't breathe.

"I do, I just feel-"

"You know what, I'm done. I can't handle this."

Draco pulled his sweater back on and looked at Harry with such intensity that he felt nothing but pure guilt. Tears stung in his eyes, his throat itched. He just wanted to escape somehow. He wanted to make it all right.

"Draco, please. I'm just conf-"

"You think you're confused? Have you ever thought about what you're fucking doing to me? Pulling me around like this? I thought we had something. You were always there for me, I always there for you. Even when we fucking _hated_ each other, at least we had some consistency! I don't even know what's going on with you right now... I only know... Well, I'm not going to be your fucking experiment anymore."

Draco shook his head angrily and headed toward the door.

"Have a good holiday, Harry," He said softly as he turned to leave. "Oh, and I expect you to be out of my room by the time I return from breakfast. I have to pack."

And then, Harry was completely alone.


	15. Happy Holidays

Hooray update! Thank you all for the amazing reviews, story alerts, favorites, etc etc. I would be nothing without you all :)

We have one more chapter after this one. Ah. It's ending soon! So bittersweet.

ENJOY loves, and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

* * *

For the entire train ride home, Harry was completely silent. Hermione kept asking if he was okay and all he could do was nod slowly. Ron kept giving him strange looks, apparently not brave enough to ask questions after his confession.

The more Harry thought about his situation, the more pissed he got. At first, he just felt bad for making Draco angry. But then again, how dare Draco get angry with him and not allow him to explain himself. If Draco really wanted him, why hadn't they sat down and talked, like grown men? Sure, he knew that Draco had the temper on him, so he couldn't exactly blame him for getting angry. And then his thoughts had come full circle, only to viciously repeat themselves again.

A few days later, however, he went from angry to quite depressed. The idea dawned upon him that Draco had been absolutely right. Fuck the labels, fuck their reputations, fuck everything that would keep them apart. He wanted Draco for his own, he always had. He had just been too scared to admit it. And now that he was sure? Well, he had screwed any chance of fixing his relationship with the blond.

Harry spent most of the first week of the Holiday Break sighing and scowling. Most of the Weasleys stayed out of his way for fear of him exploding on them, and he liked it that way. He was always the type of person who liked to be alone and wallow in his depressing thoughts.

It was cold Christmas Eve, and everyone was downstairs. Ron and Ginny were putting finishing touches on the Christmas Tree. Fred and George had magicked a toy piano to play some Christmas carols, which everyone (but Harry, of course) was singing along with, albeit a bit out of key. Mugs of butterbeer and wassail were overflowing and the Burrow smelt like Mrs. Weasley's famous gingerbread cookies. Harry was sitting on the window-seat and looking out at the cold snow as it covered the ground thickly.

He suddenly felt the seat dip. Snapping out of his trance, he looked up into the dark brown eyes of Hermione.

"Wassail?" She asked with a small smile. He shook his head and turned to look outside again.

"Harry," The brunette sighed. "I believe we need to talk. You and Ronald might have been drunk during that party, but I, however, was pretty sober and I know how you feel about Malfoy. Now what happened that night?"

Harry considered telling her that she was full of shit, that she didn't know anything and she ought to leave him alone. But he knew it would be futile. She knew his secret now, and she knew he would be lying through his teeth.

"After I left you and Ron at that party, I actually went up to Malfoy's room, and we… erm," He avoided her gaze, choosing to suddenly become interested in the frayed fabric of his jacket sleeve. "Anyway, the next morning we got into a huge fight because I wasn't entirely sure if I wanted to… um, publically pursue a relationship with him-"

"You mean come out?"

Harry looked at her strangely before going on. "Yes, I guess. But not only just come out… but come out with _Draco Malfoy_. His father hates the idea of him being gay as it is, can you imagine how he'll feel if his son is gay with me? Plus, I wasn't even entirely sure if it was just Malfoy I liked, or if I liked men in general. And of course, he got mad at me about-"

"Putting a label on it?"

Harry gaped at her and nodded in disbelief. She smiled.

"Exactly. And now that I'm discussing it with you, I really was right in some ways. But the entire time, he just wanted me to get over my reservations like they were nothing."

"Do you believe he had no reservations about the situation himself?"

Harry shrugged.

"I'm not really sure how I feel about the whole thing…"

"Well… how do you feel now?"

Harry looked back outside at the snow falling. He suddenly daydreamed about running in the snow with a certain blond. Throwing snowballs, hearing the boy complain about the cold snow messing up his hair. He imagined them falling into each other on the white blanket, kissing the white snowflakes off of the other boy's equally pale eyelashes. Harry smiled broadly at his thoughts, chuckling slightly,

"I… I want Draco Malfoy," He whispered, finally sure of himself.

Hermione grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

"I think you should write him."

"I think I will. Tonight."

He grabbed a mug of wassail and ran up enthusiastically to the room he and Ron shared. He quickly wrote down a letter and sent it off with Pigwidgeon (Hedwig was out hunting) before he second guessed himself.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

* * *

It was a rather cold Christmas Eve, colder than usual. Not that he minded. Draco loved the cold, especially at night.

He was taking his nightly walk in the gardens, looking up at the dark sky, feeling the snow falling onto his face. He couldn't feel his nose, but that didn't matter much to him. Outside was where he liked to think. And lately, he had been thinking a lot. Mainly about Harry Potter, as much as it irked him to say so.

He missed the raven haired dimwit, although he would never say it out loud. And it pained him a bit to think that when they went to Hogwarts, they would go back to their old ways. Ignoring each other, with the occasional snide remark of course. He was still a Malfoy.

Did he want Harry Potter for his own? It took him a bit to accept the fact that yes, yes he did. And he had been so close to obtaining that goal. And Potter had to go and be thick headed, like fucking always, and screw everything up.

He had spent many nights out in his gardens, trudging through the snow, thinking about Harry's reasoning.

Yes, it would piss his father off. Yes, he would probably get disowned. Yes, the media would have some sort of heyday that The Death Eater's Son was with their precious Boy Who Lived. Yes, he would probably be blamed by the Light side that he was using Harry as some sort of evil plan. Yes, his fellow Slytherins would have his head on a pike stick if they could manage it.

But none of those dramatics mattered to him. All that had mattered to him was Harry Potter. That idiotic, stubborn, arse who he was bred to hate.

And yet, he loved him. Even after he had tried so hard this holiday break to think about how Harry plainly rejected him, he loved him. Draco sighed into the night air, watching his breath. How pathetic. And Malfoys were never pathetic.

His father hadn't paid much attention to Draco's mood over the past few days because, well, let's face it… when had he _ever_ been very talkative around his father? His mother, however, noticed right away. He always caught her giving him strange, concerned glances. He was really glad she never asked him what was wrong. Draco was never a good liar when it came to his mother, and Merlin knows what she would say about his situation.

Which is why he started his nightly garden walks. At night, when he was alone with nothing to do, nothing to stay productive with, was when he thought about Harry the most. And it kept him away from anyone, especially his mother, who would notice his sudden mood change.

The snow started to pick up, so Draco figured he would head back into the Manor when suddenly something flew into the bush next to him. He slowly stepped toward the strange object, hesitant to investigate, but curiosity getting the better of him. He slowly reached his hand into the shrub when something bit him.

"What the _fuck_?" He drew his hand back and sucked on his pointer finger, just in case he was bleeding.

A small owl swooped out and dropped a letter on the ground before flying off. He glared at it until he saw it disappear into the dark, snowy sky.

Remembering the letter, he dropped down to find it in the snow. When he did, he ripped the envelope open and immediately noticed the scratchy handwriting.

His heart dropped into his stomach and his throat felt dry.

With shaking hands, he began to read the letter:

_Draco,_

_I hope you are having a good holiday. I just wanted to write you… No specific reason I guess. I was just thinking about you. Hell, when am I not thinking about you? I need to talk to you when we get back to Hogwarts, if you agree to, that is. I hope you do. Anyway. I hope you have a great Christmas._

_Yours,_

_Harry _

_XX_

Draco couldn't help but smile at the parchment in his hands. He reread it as he walked back inside, and up the stairs to his quarters to get ready for bed. He placed it in his drawer, laying down and reminding himself to write the boy back tomorrow.

As he tried to fall asleep, however, he started to feel nervous for some reason. Some random bad feeling took over his stomach, tying it into knots. What was he going to say to Harry? Why did they need to talk? What did they have to say to each other after their final goodbye in his dormitory?

If Harry had not changed his position on the matter of their relationship, why would they need to talk? For Harry to rub his opinion in Draco's face some more, to try and persuade him? The blond scoffed at this. He wouldn't dare.

If Harry did want him back (and a tiny, okay… large, portion of Draco indeed wanted this), should he take him back so easily? He _was_ a Malfoy, after all. He had gone after Harry with his whole heart, he had laid it all out on the table for the raven haired git, and the boy had done nothing but smashed it to pieces.

Draco frowned, turning onto his side.

Yes, Harry had pulled him along quite nicely, he thought bitterly. Who did he think he was anyway? Fucking Golden Boy, thinking he could say some sweet words and Draco would be ready to fall back into his arms.

How about fucking not?

* * *

Christmas passed, as did the day after Christmas, which was always a drag to Harry. He hated having to take down the decorations and throw out the Christmas tree. The week after Christmas was even worse. The idea that Christmas was, indeed, quite over and there was another long year ahead of him. It was always quite depressing, the week after Christmas. But what made it even more depressing for Harry was the fact that Draco had not yet written back.

Conflicting thoughts tore at Harry left and right. Was he still so angry that he refused to write back? Had he just been held up during his Christmas festivities that he hadn't had the chance to write Harry back yet? Did the Malfoys even _have_ Christmas festivities? What if Pigwidgeon had messed up and the letter had never gotten to the blond?

Yes, Harry decided. Pigwidgeon messed up, definitely. It's very like the owl, he concluded.

It was New Year's Eve, the snow falling slowly outside. Cider was being passed around as Mrs. Weasley chased Fred and George around the house, yelling something about indoor fireworks and how dangerous they are. Harry was anxious for the twin's big firework extravaganza at midnight, but first, he had a letter to write.

* * *

New Year's Eve had been quite the ordeal at Malfoy Manor. Draco had to sit through a very boring dinner party, full of old (albeit highly ranked) Ministry officials who did nothing but tell bad jokes. He was very ready for the night to be over with.

Sighing as he drank the last of his champagne, he excused himself from the table. He felt his father's gaze on him as he retreated to his bedroom, and he knew well enough he'd get a good lecture on being anti-social in front of such a highly esteemed crowd. No matter, he'd just tune Lucius out. Just as he always did.

He slid into the cool covers, grateful to be in bed. Yes, he was going to miss the grand, infamous Malfoy fireworks. They were his favorite part of the Malfoy New Year's Eve celebration, but this year… well, this year his heart was just not into it.

He was just drifting into slumber when he heard a loud crack at his window. Jumping a few meters off the bed and somehow landing on the ground, Draco took a few seconds to breathe and control his heart rate. He slowly peeked over his bed, a bit scared. He saw an owl standing on the ledge of his balcony. It was different from the last owl that had scared him; this one was bigger and a more grey color.

He walked over to the French doors and pulled them open, a cold breeze flowing through his room and disturbing his curtains. Snow started to fall into his room as he carefully reached out to the bird. Grabbing the envelope quickly to avoid being bitten, he retreated quickly back into the warmth of his room. He opened the letter, once again, to that scratchy and blotchy handwriting that made his heart beat a little faster every time he saw it.

_Draco,_

_Not sure if you got my Christmas letter or not. The owl I used is kind of unreliable so I thought I'd try again, with a different bird this time. If you didn't get my last message, well, I think we ought to meet up when we get back to school in a few days and talk. We really need to talk. If you did get my last message, well… I guess disregard this one. I hope you have a Happy New Year._

_Yours._

_Harry_

Draco couldn't help but smirk as he reread the letter. But, reality set in as he looked upon that one, simple word – 'yours.' That one word made his heart break every time. Potter was simply fooling himself, fooling Draco. They both were fools.

With that notorious snarl placed on his face, the blond put the note up and put himself back into bed just as fireworks began to pop in the dark sky outside his window.

* * *

It was the day before they were to leave for Hogwarts for the spring term, which meant it was extremely busy in the Weasley household. Everyone was packing, making sure they had everything. Mrs. Weasley was running around like a chicken with her head cut off, making sure all of her children, plus Harry and Hermione, had everything they would need. Thankfully, Harry had packed up all of his things late the night before, so he had escaped to the Burrow's backyard for some peace and quiet.

He could hear Mrs. Weasley yelling something from the kitchen and he smiled. He really loved it here, chaos and all. It was his home away from home, definitely. And, despite loving the Burrow, Harry loved Hogwarts even more. Usually, the day before he left for school, he would have to do something – housework, homework, flying – to get rid of the nervous energy.

But Harry was having trouble feeling completely like himself when the fact that Draco had yet to write back to _any_ of his messages kept entering his mind. It really bothered him, because he knew that Draco got at least one of them. He was slowly starting to accept that he had genuinely fucked it all up and he was going to have to live with it.

Oh, well. There was Hogwarts tomorrow, with his closest friends. And he would see Draco very soon, which made him happy even though he was slowly starting to believe that relationship had gone to complete and utter shit.

He sighed heavily and began to lift himself up off the snowy ground when a large eagle owl swooped by, dropping a piece of parchment right next to him. His heart thumped rapidly; he knew that owl well. He grabbed the letter in a quick second and began reading.

_Potter,_

_I'm not sure exactly what you want to talk about, as you made your point of view very clear in our last meeting. I would appreciate it if you simply let me be._

_Best,_

_D. M_

Harry's stomach clenched up and he felt like he was going to vomit. Yes, he had royally fucked it up indeed.

He didn't want to see Draco Malfoy at all now. He knew as soon as he saw that pale skin with those deep, piercing grey eyes and those pink lips he was going to fall all over again, even if that beautiful face looked upon him with complete hatred.

Suddenly, Harry was absolutely dreading going back to Hogwarts.


	16. All I Need

Well, here it is everyone! The last chapter! Wow, this feels so strange. A HUGE thank you to each and every one of you for your incredible support and I truly hope you all have enjoyed the story. :) Oh, and I'm actually beginning a new story soon, so keep your eyes peeled!

Anyway, enough talking, on with the chapter, yeah? Dig in, loves!

Quick disclaimer: Nothing but the plot!

* * *

The first week back at Hogwarts was the hardest. Draco was trying his hardest not to just walk up to Harry and say _Listen, I was being a prat. Come back to me._ Then, grab him around the waist and pull him into a passionate kiss that would melt all the negativity between them.

That, however, was not something a Malfoy would do. So, he was forced to put on his signature snarl around the brunette. At first, he could see the hurt on Harry's face, which only made it harder. But near the end of the week, Harry's eyes changed from hurt to completely blank. Completely indifferent. Completely void of care.

Could Harry have gotten over his feelings for Draco so quickly? Not that Draco was being the best sport about the entire situation, but at least he was showing _some_ kind of feeling. Harry Potter, however, was showing no feeling at all.

That hurt Draco more than anything.

* * *

Harry knew it would be different around Draco when they got back to school. But he hadn't thought about _how_ it would be different. He figured they would just ignore each other. He definitely wasn't expecting the old Draco Malfoy back, with his smirks, snarls, and seemingly endless insults.

It drove him insane when he heard Draco say something about "Golden Boy", "Weasel", or "Mudblood" – absolutely insane. What made it even worse was that he could do nothing to stop it. Draco had made his point clear – he wanted nothing to do with Harry. And he knew that trying to talk Draco out of his current attitude would lead to nothing, if not harsher feelings between the two.

As the week went on, he just tried to completely ignore the blond. However, the Gryffindor soon found that old habits die hard. He occasionally caught himself staring at Draco, hoping his hurt was masked to all around him – especially the Slytherin.

One night, at dinner, he was staring particularly hard at Draco, picking at his dinner, when he felt someone elbow him in the ribs. He glared at the source, only to find a huge flame of red hair.

"Oh, hello, Ginny," He said harshly.

The red head sighed.

"Harry, what are you doing after dinner?"

He looked at her suspiciously from above his glass of pumpkin juice.

"Why do you ask?"

"Harry James. Don't you trust me?" She asked with mock concern.

"Let me think… um… Nope, I sure do not."

Ginny groaned with frustration and looked at Hermione with a pleading look.

Hermione looked from Ginny to Harry and shook her head.

"Harry, we really need to talk to you."

Hermione was in on this, too?

"What's going on?"

"We'll explain later. Just come with us after dinner, alright?"

"Please, Harry?"

"Please?"

"Alright, alright. Fine," He grudgingly agreed and went back to staring at a specific blond. He completely missed the worried look that the two girls shared.

* * *

Harry had tried to sneak off to the Gryffindor Common Room after dinner to avoid whatever talk he was going to have with Ginny and Hermione, but halfway up the stairs he was halted by a booming voice.

"Harry James Potter. This talk is extremely important and you will _not_ run away from Ginny and I. Is that clear?"

Harry slowly nodded and walked over to the two girls, accepting defeat.

They led him into a dark classroom, slamming the door behind them as they entered.

"What the fuck is this? Hermione? Ginny? Where are you? Let me out!"

He was thrown onto a hard chair as the lights came on. He looked around the room to find himself surrounding by a very angry looking Hermione, Ginny, and-

"Pansy Parkinson? Okay, this is too strange. Seriously. I'm out of here."

He was about to get up leave when Hermione put a Binding Hex on him, fastening him to the chair.

"Oh no, you don't, Potter," Pansy ordered.

"What do you want from me?" Harry slowly felt himself begin to panic.

"Harry, we're here for you."

"We're here to help you."

"Steer you in the right direction, yeah?"

Harry stared at all three girls with a thoroughly confused look on his face.

"Pardon? Help me and steer me? For what?"

"Harry, this is an intervention," Ginny flourished dramatically with her hands.

"Er… right. That's great and all but I don't really see a need for-"

"Oh, no? No intervention is needed? So nothing is bothering you to the point that you're basically a zombie?" Pansy circled him slowly.

"Nope," Harry lied, gulping.

"Nothing is upsetting you so much that it's all you ever think about? Day and night?" Now Ginny was circling him.

Harry only shook his head furiously.

"Oh," Hermione started walking around him as well. He felt himself getting dizzy. "So, there is no _one_ that might be tearing your heart into pieces? No one that you constantly think about, dream about-"

"_Stare_ at," Ginny quipped.

"Stare at. No one at all, Harry?"

"No!"

Pansy stopped in front of him, fire in her eyes.

"Lies!" She growled.

"This actually feels more like an interrogation than intervention," Harry noted, a bit scared of the dark haired girl in front of him.

"Semantics," She brushed it off. "Harry, we know."

"Sorry?"

"We know _everything_."

"About you and Malfoy. Snogging, shagging."

He glared at Hermione here.

"You told them?"

"She didn't tell us anything," Pansy scoffed. "We've known since you began. Since _that_ night."

Harry hung his head in shame. He didn't have the guts to lie to them. They knew everything.

"Okay, fine, that's nice and all," He remarked heatedly. "But can you please explain to me what MY relationship with Malfoy has to do with me being TIED to a fucking chair in a classroom?"

"You're TIED because you tried to escape us, you git," Pansy snarled.

"Harry," Hermione interrupted his sure to be rude comment. "I know it sounds bad, but the three of us want you and Malfoy to be together. We have since the very beginning."

He looked at them, completely dumbfounded.

"Pansy here was helping us to match you two together," Ginny motioned toward the angry looking Slytherin girl.

"And YOU have completely ruined my match success rate. And YOU will fix it."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"I _tried_ to fix it, Parkinson. I wrote to him twice over the holidays. He said for me to leave him alone. Then he went back to being a snarky tosser. I think I'm done."

"We know this, Potter, which is why we're giving you this intervention. We're going to help you patch things up with Draco."

"What if I don't want to patch things up with him?"

The three girls looked at him, then looked at each other.

Suddenly, the room was full of loud, girlish laughter. This really pissed Harry off.

"Excuse me but-"

"You're pretty funny, Potter," Pansy cleared her throat, suddenly serious again. "But you can't fool us."

Harry stayed silent and looked at his feet, avoiding their eyes.

"Just cut the shit, Harry, and let us help you."

"Hermione!" He gasped.

The brunette rolled her eyes.

"You forget who you're speaking to, Harry. I was the one you spoke to over the Christmas holidays. You told me how you felt about him. I have a gut feeling that Malfoy feels the same way. He's just one to hold grudges, and everyone in this room knows that. But you can't just sit idly by, torturing yourself by just accepting the way he treats. Especially when you look back on your relationship before all of this mess happened. All three of us really believe that if you try hard, you can fix this, Harry."

"Are you kidding? Draco won't even LOOK at me without disgust in his eyes, what makes you think he'll speak to me?"

The air was thick with silence.

"I'm going to try my best to speak to him, Potter," Pansy chimed in. "But, it ultimately comes down to you."

"Are you in, Harry?" Ginny asked.

Harry sat still for a moment, wondering if it would be worth it. And then he saw Draco, smiling at him with those grey eyes like he used to. He nodded.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm in."

He felt the bonds release him and he stiffly stood up.

"I'm going to go talk to Draco now. I want you to write him tonight so he gets it tomorrow. Just tell him how you feel. And be persistent this time, yeah?"

He watched as Pansy left, feeling a slight turn in his stomach. This could not go well.

* * *

Draco was reading a book by the fireplace when Pansy came skipping into the Slytherin Common Room and plopped herself on the couch next to him.

"What?"

"Draco, we need to talk," She scooted a bit closer.

He sighed with irritation, slamming his book shut.

"Merlin, what is it?"

"It's about Harry," She whispered.

"Harry who?" He asked with disinterest.

"Potter."

"I don't give a fuck about Potter."

Pansy rolled her eyes.

"Really, Draco. I'm not stupid. I'm not sure what happened to the two of you, but before you left for the holidays you two were practically up each others arses."

Draco tensed here. Pansy raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Oh ho ho, really now? That's-"

"Pansy, shut it. I'm not discussing that with you."

"Fine, be that way. That's not what I came for anyway. A little Weaselette told me that Potter is still in love with you despite the way you're treating him."

Draco cut her a side glare. "And?"

"I think you should give him a second chance."

"I don't bloody care what you think."

"Really, Draco. So touchy. Obviously there's some feelings left in your cold heart."

Draco fell silent and reopened his book.

"Just think about it, Draco." She slowly slid off the couch and disappeared into the girls dormitory.

The blond stared vacantly into the fireplace, feeling a slight tug at his heart as he imagined those emerald eyes. Could a Malfoy give into love so easily?

* * *

Harry couldn't think of anything to write. He had stayed up entirely too late trying to write his feelings down onto the parchment like Pansy had asked him to, but he got absolutely no where with it.

He had never been a man of words. But if there was one thing he knew from experience, it was that it was moment that moved him best when it came to making speeches and whatnot. Like during Dumbledore's Army and Quidditch matches, he seemed to get the words out right. Thinking that perhaps his situation with Draco had to similar, he simply wrote for the blond to please meet him in that infamous cob webbed classroom after dinner.

The day went on for what felt like forever, and Harry's stomach was in a huge knot. He knew he couldn't eat anything, so he sat in the classroom throughout dinner, staring at the door. Waiting for that moment when it would open. Waiting for Draco to burst the door, to accept his apology. Waiting for the moment where things would just go back to how they used to be.

Harry waited for an hour.

That moment never came.

He wrote Draco practically every day, asking him to meet him in the classroom. Every time, Draco never showed.

Harry never gave up. Mainly because Hermione and Ginny refused to let him give up. They were always there, giving him knowing glances, making snarky remarks about how it was very Gryffindor like of him to surrender. It was all very tiring, and somewhat irritating, but Harry couldn't argue with them. He couldn't give up, despite how much easier it would makes things.

One evening, when Harry was brooding - much like he always did since this Draco nonsense started - Hermione voiced that couldn't take much more of his depressing nature.

"Well, what do you want me to do? I'm trying everything. I'm doing what you and Ginny are telling me to do. It's not working," He hit his hands together on the last three words to emphasize his point.

The brunette rolled her eyes and muttered something about having to do everything. Harry cut her a glare as she closed her books.

"Harry, I know it's frustrating. I know sometimes you feel like it's not worth it. Deep down, though, you know what you want. I personally don't understand why you're letting one tiny drawback get in your way… You've never let obstacles stop you before." She gave him a reassuring smile before heading upstairs to the girls' dormitory.

Staring into the fireplace, Harry thought back on her advice. Draco completely ignoring him when they really needed to talk was certainly quite the obstacle.

_You've never let obstacles stop you before._

This was definitely true. Anytime Harry needed to do something, he always found a way to get to it. He always went after it himself.

Suddenly, something in him snapped.

"That's it!" He yelled to no one in particular, gaining some strange looks from his fellow housemates.

He always had the tendency to go after the things that never came to him. Always. And really, looking back on it all, when had he _not_ gone after said things? Never, actually.

Why hadn't he seen it before?

Smiling, Harry raced off to bed, anxious for the new day so his plan could be put into action.

* * *

The next day was a cold, but sunny Saturday. Harry had no idea where to find Draco, much less how to get him alone. He was starting to feel like this new "brilliant" plan of his wasn't going so well. Sighing, he grabbed his broom and decided a fly would surely make him feel better.

He was quickly crossing his way across the grounds toward the Quidditch pitch when a flash of blond caught his eye. He looked to his left and his heart started pounding uncontrollably. There was Draco Malfoy, sitting on a bench, reading a book. Alone.

This was his chance.

Harry stood there for a moment, trying to will the courage to simply walk over there. His legs are shaking, his palms were sweating. He cursed the blond for being able to do this to him.

Gulping loudly, he slowly started toward the blond. He cleared his throat a bit to announce his presence. Draco didn't even look up from his novel.

"Stalking me, Potter? I thought I made it clear," He mocked with little humor.

"Not clear enough, apparently," Harry challenged, anger beginning to rise.

"Oh? Well, how about this? Fuck off."

"Draco, I really want to talk to you."

"That's wonderful, but I'm not interested in what you have to say. I'm trying to read, so really, go away before I make you."

"Make me?" Harry growled, stomping to stand directly in front of the boy. He yanked the book from Draco's hands. "Look at me. Hear me out."

Draco stood up, glaring daggers at the raven haired boy he was now eye to eye with.

"Hear you out, eh? Hear you say what I wanted you to say three weeks ago when you didn't have the guts, only for you to possibly change your fucking mind again? No thank you, I've got better things to do with my time," He hissed, snatching the book back and furiously turned to leave.

"I'm a fucking idiot."

Draco slowly turned to face him again, with a bored look on his face.

"And?"

"I was sure of you, I really was. I was being a complete twat, and I regret every moment of it. But I was always sure of you. Fuck, you're the one thing I've ever been sure about in my life. I was such a wanker, and it took losing you for me to understand how right you were. Fuck your cunt of a father. And I don't care about the labels… homosexual, bisexual, trisexual, whatever the fuck that is. I don't think that even exists… Whatever. It doesn't matter. I don't even care. I care about you. Only you. It's only you, Draco. And it will always be only you. I… I could never, NEVER change my mind about you. I love you. It will be only us. _Only _us. If you just give us the chance. And fucking… please say you'll give us the chance."

The blond stared at him for a long moment with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open – as if processing Harry's speech a word at a time.

Harry wasn't sure what else to say, so he closed the distance between them with fiery kiss. He wrapped his arms around the boy's cold, pale neck, pulling him even closer. Draco quickly pulled away, searching Harry's emerald eyes with his cool, grey ones.

"I love you too, you twit," Draco laughed softly. And Harry practically melted when he felt the blond return his kiss with equal passion.

It was then that Harry felt everything fall into place.

He thought back to that moment in the classroom all those months ago, to that lonely moment had when discussing Ron and Hermione. That moment he had longed for a companion. Someone who, no matter how many times they fought or no matter how foolish he would act, would always understand him. Be there for him. Love him.

And there, in the middle of the courtyard, with his many schoolmates watching, and the cold wind blowing through his hair, Harry knew.

Draco was what he was looking for all along.


End file.
